NHS at 60: fairness for NHS staff and patients

In the NHS's 60th anniversary year, Labour is celebrating the hard work and commitment of NHS staff, past and present, and affirming our commitment to the NHS's future.

Labour is making the NHS fairer and more personal, focused on preventing ill health as well as curing it. That is why we are widening GP access at evenings and weekends, and introducing new health checks for everyone aged between 40 and 74 to help beat heart disease and save thousands of lives.

The Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Alan Johnson joined hundreds of NHS staff and patients from all over the country at Westminster Abbey today for a special service to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS and to thank NHS staff, past and present, for their dedication, commitment, skill and hard work.

Since 1997, Labour has delivered for the NHS and its staff and patients:
• There are 80,000 more nurses and 38,000 more doctors in the NHS now than in 1997.
• Labour has ensured that NHS staff are fairly paid: today a newly qualified nurse earns £19,645, and average pay for a nurse is £31,645; in 1997 a newly-qualified nurse's basic pay was just £12,385 and average nurses' pay was just £20,760.
• Waiting lists have fallen by 614,000 since 1997. By the end of this year, nobody will have to wait more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment, and most waits are already much shorter than this.
• The NHS carries out over a million more operations a year than in 1997.
• The NHS now has 149 new hospitals and 90 new walk-in centres, either built or on the way.

Now, Labour is changing the NHS. We are making the NHS a more personal health service, fitted to the needs of families and focused on preventing ill health as well as curing it. That's why:
• Labour is extending GP opening hours so that most GP practices will be open for at least one weekend or evening session a week by next year;
• Labour is opening over 100 new GP practices in the areas where they're most needed, along with 152 new GP-led health centres across the country to be open 8am-8pm, seven days a week;
• All hospitals have been deep cleaned and over 5,000 matrons are helping in the fight against MRSA. By March 2009 every non-emergency patient will be screened for MRSA;
• To help beat heart disease, we will make sure everyone aged between 40 and 74 is offered access to free health checks on the NHS from 2009, helping to save thousands of lives;
• By the end of 2010, an additional 500,000 women will be screened for breast cancer and two million men and women will be screened for bowel cancer, and this year teenage girls will be offered a new vaccine against cervical cancer;
• By 2011, 3,600 more new psychological therapists will have treated 900,000 more people with depression and anxiety, improving their quality of life and reducing the numbers on sick pay and benefits.

You can say thank you to an NHS staff member who has made a difference to you or your family by visiting labour.org.uk/proud