Letter to Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP: urgent plan for support for the NHS and social care
Lord Victor Adebowale CBE and Danny Mortimer wrote to Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak regarding NHS pressures and the need for a plan.
Health leaders are concerned that there had been a lack of proper debate about NHS pressures and future needs of the NHS and social care in the Conservative leadership debate.
They believe the two candidates must have a 'realism reset' in their conversations about the NHS - levelling with the public about what the NHS is facing and what support they will provide to address it if successful in becoming Prime Minister.
Leaders across the NHS have identified three urgent priorities that both candidates must set out plans to address:
- the need for a fully costed and funded workforce plan to deal with the 105,000 vacancies in the NHS and 165,000 vacancies in social care
- capital investment to upgrade much of our crumbling estate and infrastructure
- a rescue package for social care which remains far from ‘fixed’ and which is leading to significant extra demand on the NHS.
The letter urges Mr Sunak to set out how he will support the NHS and social care to address these challenges as Prime Minister, should he be successful in the Conservative Leadership contest.
