Latest research by Liberal Democrats shows “Conservative failure” of Guildford residents stuck on NHS waiting lists.

Latest research by Liberal Democrats shows “Conservative failure” of Guildford residents stuck on NHS waiting lists. 

Guildford Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Zöe Franklin accuses the Conservative Government of failing local people, as more than 162,000 are on waiting lists for hospital treatment. 

The Liberal Democrats have commissioned research from the House of Commons library, which shows 162,252 “incomplete patient pathways” on the waiting list for hospital treatment in the area covered by the Surrey Heartlands partnership. That’s the equivalent of 143 per 1,000 patients. 

Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal a record high of 2.6 million people across the country are out of work due to long-term sickness, that’s up from two million in 2019. 

Guildford Liberal Democrat Candidate Zöe Franklin commented: “The Conservative government’s failure to prioritise the NHS in the recent autumn statement is unforgivable.  

“The government continues to fail the NHS by not giving dedicated staff the resources they desperately need, and people are suffering the consequences of years of this government’s neglect of the NHS. 

“This isn’t just having a devastating impact on people’s lives, it’s also hitting our struggling economy. The impact of people unable to return to work because they’re waiting for treatment is huge.” 

The Liberal Democrats have set out a plan to fix the crisis in NHS and care, including:  

• giving people a legal right to see their GP within seven days 
• increasing the Carer’s Minimum Wage to tackle soaring vacancies 
• giving people a guarantee to begin cancer treatment within 62 days of being diagnosed

Zöe Franklin continued: “We all deserve an NHS that is there to look after us when we are in need, and the staff deserve the resources they need to provide us with the service they want to give us.

“ It is unforgivable how his Conservative government has run our local health services into the ground. 

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent investment in the NHS to bring down waiting lists as the health service prepares for yet another winter crisis under this Conservative government.”