- Green Party previews manifesto with extra spending on health and social care rising to over £50bn per year by 2030
- This sits alongside an additional £20bn capital investment to bring crumbling hospitals, primary care buildings and outdated equipment up to modern standards
- Greens will increase NHS frontline workers’ salaries including doctors, dentists and nurses
- “Cast-iron Green guarantee” promise that Green MPs will fight privatisation of the NHS
Green Party Co-Leader, Adrian Ramsay and the party’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Dr Pallavi Devulapalli, today announced a “game-changing” package for the NHS and social care totally £50 billion a year in investment by 2030 and an additional £20 billion in capital investment to improve crumbling buildings.
Commenting at the launch, Green Co-Leader, Adrian Ramsay said “Today’s announcement represents a game changing package that is more than any other political party is offering. It has been fully costed and could be fully delivered.”
Mr Ramsay, who described his personal experience in recent months supporting a family member both through hospitals and then into the care system, said that “many people” could see that the NHS was “stretched to breaking point” despite the “commitment of hard-working NHS staff”.
Green Party Health and Social Care Spokesperson and practicing GP, Dr Pallavi Devulapalli , reiterated this saying that she had “seen first-hand the impact that chronic underinvestment had on patients” describing long-waiting times for treatments and the impact of living in severe pain unable to work or support loved ones.
Mr Ramsay spoke to the need to “restore dignity both for NHS staff and patients”.
The Greens used the announcement to reveal a package of spending pledges alongside a “Green cast iron guarantee” that Green MPs would fight the privatisation of the NHS at every stage. The announcement included a commitment to :
- Invest £20bn in a capital investment to bring our crumbling hospitals and old equipment up to standard.
- Invest £50 billion per year by 2030 into health and social care – more than any other major party – and would use the money to:
- Dramatically reduce waiting lists
- Offer everyone access to an NHS dentist
- Guarantee rapid access to a GP when there is urgent need and dramatically reduce waiting times for all
- Ensure people needing mental health support can access relevant therapies within 28 days
- Invest £5bn per year to boost NHS salaries and keep our wonderful nurses and doctors in the UK
- Invest £20 billion per year into adult social care to ensure dignity for those in need of care and take pressure off the NHS – including introducing free personal care.
- Restore public health budgets with £1.5bn uplift in spending .
The large spending commitments they say is part of a fully costed manifesto due to be released on the 12th June in Brighton that includes commitments to “tax wealth fairly” by introducing a wealth tax of 1% on assets over £10 million and 2% over £1 billion.
