NHS Capacity

Part of Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons on 19 October 2021.

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Photo of Rosena Allin-Khan Rosena Allin-Khan Shadow Minister (Mental Health)

I start by paying my respects to Sir David Amess and James Brokenshire, who were sadly taken from us far too soon.

I welcome the Minister for Care and Mental Health, Gillian Keegan, to her new brief. I look forward to working with her.

We are all too aware of the growing demand for support across the NHS, but all too often mental health treatment is forgotten. With up to 10 million more people thought to require treatment as a result of the pandemic, with waiting lists soaring and with beds being cut, we need more than just warm words from the Government. Labour will guarantee treatment, not just an assessment, starting within a month, and we will recruit 8,500 new staff so that 1 million additional people can receive the timely treatment they so deserve. That is what came out of our conference from our party leader. There was nothing of equal value from the Prime Minister, bar recycled old pledges and money spent four times over. Why?