After just one term as an MP, Liz Kendall already attends Labour’s shadow cabinet meetings, as shadow minister for care and older people. It’s a sign of her stock in the party and importance to Ed Miliband of her brief. Her knowledge of health policy and refreshing ability to talk plain English rather than NHS wonkspeak makes her an articulate advocate of Labour’s 10-year plan for the NHS, to offer “whole-person care” through the integration of health and social care services in England. She helped Miliband and the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, launch Labour’s health manifesto this month in Pudsey, Yorkshire, and is mentioned as a possible contender for the role of health secretary if Labour wins the electionand Miliband puts Burnham in a different job.
A huge fan of the NHS – “it’s the embodiment of British values and Labour values” – she also believes it needs to change. A couple she met while campaigning locally illustrates why, she says. “It was a mum and dad in a park with their kids. The dad hadn’t wanted to talk, really. But he came to see me a while later at one of my community drop-ins. He was really upset and told me that his wife had diabetes and had had a foot amputated because of that. They’d needed a grab-rail so she could have a bath. But it hadn’t turned up for nine months. She’d ended up going into hospital [again] and when she came out, things had changed and she needed a wetroom downstairs. But when they finally came round to instal it, it was four days after she’d died. I don’t know if that situation could have been prevented, but I’m pretty damn sure it could have been.
Related: Ex-NHS boss questions Tory and Lib Dem health service funding plans
Continue reading...
No comments:
Post a Comment