The NHS faces severe challenges including staffing shortages, delays in treatment, inadequate social care leading to increased A&E admissions, and financial pressures exacerbated by inflation. There is a pressing need for better funding, workforce planning, and accountability regarding private healthcare profiteering.

The crisis in dental and mental health is particularly affecting children due to the lack of local provision, feeding future generations with health issues stemming from current failures.

Private healthcare providers are recruiting staff directly from universities trained at state expense but used for private profit, which disadvantages the NHS. This exploitation needs addressing to ensure fair competition and prevent loss of skilled personnel.

A local GP surgery in her constituency is closing due to a private sale, leaving many patients without regular healthcare providers. This reflects broader issues of private sector encroachment on NHS services leading to increased patient registration difficulties.

Conservative MPs are deliberately advocating for an insurance-based American-style healthcare system, pushing the public towards such a model through increasing privatisation and financial barriers to NHS care.

Families are already resorting to dental plans due to unavailability of NHS dentistry, highlighting the existing disparity in healthcare access and quality between public and private systems.

Corbyn questions the morality of private contractors profiting from NHS contracts, suggesting these profits should be reinvested in healthcare.

Clifton-Brown adds that a key argument for universal healthcare is its ability to introduce new technologies and innovations more effectively.

Cunningham points out that many doctors working in the NHS were trained under Labour governments and questions current training levels, also challenging Hancock on his responsibility for past failures.

Eshalomi raises concerns about constituents' lack of internet access, making it difficult for them to book appointments online.

Greenwood emphasises the issue of functional illiteracy and cognitive impairments affecting many individuals, questioning the practicality of charging patients who miss appointments.

Congratulates her colleague on securing the debate, focusing on constituents' experiences of the NHS. Discusses the need to address systemic issues rather than isolated figures. Points out a 25-year low in satisfaction with the NHS at 36%, up from 70% in 2010 under Labour's governance. Highlights waiting lists for planned treatment and urgent GP referrals, emphasising patient mortality rates in A&E as shocking and unacceptable. Mentions the growing number of patients awaiting diagnostic tests and stresses that one in seven people cannot get timely GP appointments. Addresses staffing shortages with 47,000 nursing vacancies and a significant loss of staff from the NHS, advocating for Labour's workforce plan to tackle these issues.

The health service was dealt a terrible blow during the pandemic and needs to recover from it. The number of full-time NHS staff increased by 2.7% in 2022 but there are still significant shortages with 130,000 job vacancies. There is an urgent need for more doctors and nurses, particularly GPs. Addressing social care worker shortages is critical as many patients remain hospitalized due to lack of discharge support. Improving conditions for healthcare workers can help retain talent and reduce staff turnover. The recovery of the NHS is crucial for timely treatment access; waiting lists are decreasing but challenges persist with incomplete treatment pathways still affecting a significant number of people. Denmark’s healthcare system reform could offer valuable lessons, including increased outpatient care, telemedicine use, digital transformation, and hospital design standardisation.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) for securing this important discussion on the NHS dental services crisis after 13 years of Tory managed decline, focusing on oral health and dentistry as a part of general healthcare. I highlight that tooth decay is the No. 1 cause of admissions to A&E for children. Since the start of the pandemic, we have lost 40 million NHS dental appointments and the Government's spending on dentistry in England was cut by over a quarter between 2010 and 2020. We are losing dentists due to low pay, leading to more private practice work at the expense of NHS commitments. I also draw attention to whistleblowing issues within the NHS where staff face bullying and harassment for raising concerns.

Critiques the debate for being a blame game, praises Conservative contributions to the NHS, highlights the poor performance of health services in Wales under Labour control, and emphasises the need for open discussion on real issues rather than political finger-pointing. He also mentions the high cost of healthcare advancements and the growing population, suggesting that outdated principles are inadequate. He calls for better use of private sector resources and criticises political football in NHS discussions.

Responds to Rob Roberts' speech, highlighting the poor performance of health services under Conservative control since 2010. She mentions over 7 million people on waiting lists and tens of thousands of vacancies in NHS staff.

I worked in the NHS for 25 years and know firsthand how inadequate staffing and funding can be soul destroying. My constituents cannot get GP appointments due to high call volumes; one missed all available slots by calling just a minute past eight. Families face long waiting times, with ambulances taking 27 minutes on average and some A&E patients waiting over 12 hours for treatment. Staff report stress and poor mental health, leading to 40,000 nurses and 20,000 doctors leaving their jobs last year. Only a Labour Government can fix this crisis.

Made an apology for using intemperate language at the end of his speech.

Accepted Rob Roberts' apology and emphasised the importance of using moderation in language during debates.

He thanked Kate Osborne for initiating the debate and discussed the founding principles of the NHS, emphasising its community-oriented approach. He criticised the Conservative party's opposition to the NHS in 1947 and highlighted compromises made by Nye Bevan during the establishment of the NHS. Corbyn also addressed issues such as dental costs, privatization within healthcare, recruitment of medical professionals from other countries, investment in social care services, removal of profit motives in the care sector, and the importance of mental health provision.

The NHS is at breaking point due to years of Conservative-led Governments. There are issues with waiting lists, ambulance times, GP appointments, and dental health. A national assessment of need is necessary along with a commitment to social care funding. The relationship between GP surgeries and patients needs addressing, as does the recruitment of doctors, nurses, and carers from abroad due to 130,000 vacancies in healthcare sectors. There should be more training places for doctors and nurses, and retention strategies must improve to maintain morale among NHS staff who are leaving in droves.

McDonnell raised concerns about the financial strain on NHS workers, highlighting that one in five NHS trusts provides food banks for staff. He detailed how paramedics' pay has decreased by £2,400 in real terms and that there are currently 3,000 ambulance staff vacancies in England. Additionally, he pointed out that nurse shortages are at an all-time high with 47,000 vacancies and one in nine nurses leaving the profession annually. McDonnell also discussed the junior doctors' pay dispute and highlighted the impact of reduced funding on mental health services, noting a significant drop in the number of NHS beds for mental health patients.

Welcomed funding for a new diagnostic centre in Stockton, criticised the systematic failure of the government leading to poor inspection outcomes across trusts, and highlighted issues with management decisions at North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Emphasised the need for transparency regarding an investigation report into the trust.

The debate focuses on the current health and social care crisis in the UK, driven by a lack of integration between services and insufficient funding. Ms. Maskell criticises the Conservative government's approach to healthcare, highlighting issues such as delayed discharges due to understaffed social care services and high costs associated with temporary accommodation for patients awaiting discharge. She emphasises that addressing workforce shortages is crucial, advocating for equal pay scales across NHS and social care sectors through 'Agenda for Change'. Additionally, she calls for a publicly-run national care service, increased investment in primary care facilities like Nimbuscare's paediatric assessment unit to reduce emergency department pressures, and the implementation of preventive health measures. Maskell also stresses the importance of prioritising public health initiatives aimed at reducing inequalities.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow on securing this important debate. It really is a privilege to speak after so many powerful and passionate contributions. I want to start by telling the House about my constituent Mo Peberdy and her father, who is 83 years old. He has stage 5 kidney failure, diabetes—which has already led to a serious foot infection and the loss of one toe—and early-onset dementia. On the weekend of 10 and 11 December, Mo’s father started to go downhill. By the 15th, he was in crisis. He had hugely swollen testicles and terrible sores all over his groin and backside. He could not eat or drink, let alone sit down, and he had severe diarrhoea, which was green and contained blood. Mo immediately called the GP but faced numerous delays before a paramedic finally arrived 14 hours later. The situation in our health and care system is dire after 13 long years of Conservative Government, with more than 7 million people waiting for hospital treatment. In the last month alone, 42,700 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that up to 500 more people are dying every week due to delays in emergency care. The target that patients with suspected cancer should not have to wait longer than two months from GP referral to treatment has not been met since 2015. In social care, 1.5 million older people who need help with the basics of daily living are not getting any help at all. There are 133,000 vacancies in the NHS and 165,000 in social care; the combined total is the same as the population of Newcastle.

The Government have committed a record £180.4 billion in core resource spending for the NHS by 2024-25, including an additional £14 billion from the Chancellor's autumn statement. The funding will support workforce expansion with plans to recruit an extra 50,000 nurses and increase medical training places. Training and development of existing staff are also prioritised through the creation of new specialty training posts. Investments in technology, such as Health 2.0, aim to improve efficiency and service delivery. The NHS is working on initiatives like virtual wards and additional ambulances to address urgent care challenges and reduce backlogs caused by the pandemic. Efforts include expanding community diagnostics centres and surgical hubs, with over £8 billion allocated for elective recovery funding from 2022-23 to 2024-25. Investments in general practice aim to create an additional 50 million appointments per year through workforce diversification and new digital tools.

Emphasised the importance of housing for health, noting that the Conservative government is extending the decent homes standard to the private sector and introducing the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to address issues in social housing.

Discussed dental reforms, stating that while they are a starting point, there is much more work to be done and the government will provide further details soon.

Thanked those who contributed to the debate, including NHS staff on strike. Highlighted the need for proper funding of the NHS after 13 years of Conservative governance. Mentioned organisations campaigning to save hospital services due to inadequate funding. Noted that health spending in the UK is 18% below the EU14 average and required £40 billion more a year every year for the past decade. Emphasised Labour's commitment to train new NHS staff by abolishing non-dom tax status, as suggested by the Chancellor.