Labour needs more than the 48 hour GP guarantee promised by Ed Miliband this week. We need to be bold and address the true concern underlying the difficulties faced by the NHS in the coming years – there simply is not enough money. The British Medical Association put it bluntly; the NHS with the current level of funding cannot continue to exist as we know it. Promises of more money, more services or a 48 hour GP guarantee resonate with voters, but without a radical and credible plan to fund the future of health and social care they will be meaningless.
One year out from the general election, with broken Tory promises, sweeping cuts and creeping privatisation, the NHS will be a factor, but not a game-changer in 2015. The story remains and will continue to be our economic credibility. This is why Frank Field’s call for a ring-fenced rise in national insurance, set aside for funding our expanding and ever more complex health and social care needs is absolutely right.
The former Labour minister’s case for a second phase of the NHS funded by an NI rise would be an eye-catching policy for the electorate. Seen as a national institution, what most people say makes them proud to be British, 4 out of 5 of us want to see the NHS budget ring-fenced (Ipsos Mori). Labour can provide this promise together with a fiscally credible plan to fund a health service fit for the 21st century.
Concerns mooted from some corners of our party that this could be seen as an intergenerational tax grab, although understandable, do not stack up. Firstly, although a resounding majority of the NHS budget is spent on older people, younger people value the comprehensive safety net it provides for them and their families and are seeing services they use, such as maternity services and mental health services, under threat.
Secondly, health matters to us all. I care how long my mum may wait for a hip operation, or that my grandma may have access to community rehabilitation after a fall. We all have friends and family benefiting right now from a health service professional and can tell stories of how the NHS has helped us or a loved one. I was diagnosed at the age of 21 with ulcerative colitis and receive on-going care through the NHS. I benefited from mental health services, suffering from post-traumatic stress and anxiety following the birth of my first son. Born extremely prematurely he received world-class specialist care, spending eight weeks in neonatal intensive care. Our second son, also an early-arriver, was born rather suddenly at home on the living room floor. We, particularly my husband, were very thankful to the paramedics who came to help us! Age is not important when we all have a reason to care about health care.
Finally, and most importantly, economic credibility is necessary if we are to see a Labour victory and protection of our NHS from the Tories. A fully-costed, ring-fenced budget for our health service sends a strong, credible message of Labour’s support for health and public services paid for via general taxation. Other options, such as additional taxes levied on estates at death or on pensioners (‘death’ or ‘granny taxes’) failed to reflect the ethos behind the NHS. They weaken the principle of universal services funded by all, to benefit all – integral to why our health system, free at the point of use, is so great. Support for our NHS remains high, but public concern for its future is growing. Even in a time of family and individual financial constraints I believe public mood will support a NI rise if funds are set aside for health and social care.
The need to express Labour values in clear, economically prudent and costed terms is central to winning the next election. With this policy as part of our platform, the election of a Labour majority in 2015 would give a strong mandate for NHS spending. Such a mandate will make it politically difficult for the Tories to underfunded our health service in future, protecting it not only now and but for future generations.
Labour can save the NHS, but it will take more than 48 hours.
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Catriona Ogilvy is an NHS worker and member of Progress
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Photo: Chris Jones