As we celebrate 70 years of our National Health Service, I pay tribute to the brilliant efforts and dedication of all the staff who work tirelessly to treat and care for local people.
On this special anniversary, we must also recognise the failings of the current government, whose catastrophic cuts have pushed our NHS to breaking point.
After eight years of austerity, the government has refused time and again to give our health service the funding it desperately needs, and patients are paying the price.
This winter was the worst on record for the NHS, with hospitals overcrowded, A&E departments log-jammed, and the number of people waiting on trolleys rising to 221,000.
Our priority must be to reverse these unreasonable policies.
We must increase funding in real terms to ensure the hard work of our health professionals is recognised by paying them a decent wage.
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