Conservative - Funding

• The conservatives intend to increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8billion “in real terms,” over the next 5 years.
• The Conservatives commit to making sure patients get new drugs and treatment faster, while the NHS gets best value for money.
• NHS leaders will be held to account for delivering plans to improve patient care and legal changes would be made, if current legislation is slowing implementation or preventing accountability at a national or local level.

Conservative - Access

• The operation of the internal market would be reviewed, and non-legislative changes to remove barriers to integration of care will be made in time for the start of the 2018 financial year.
• GPs would be expected to collaborate to provide greater access, more innovative services, share data and offer better facilities.
• GPs would be supported to innovate including phone and on-line consultation and use of technology for triage to enable people to see the right clinician more quickly.
• The Conservatives commit to making sure that patients have information to hold local services to account. Patients would be empowered with a greater role in their own treatment having care put at their convenience with use of technology. Either via digital means or telephone.
• Patients would be given the ability to book appointments, contact the 111 service, order repeat prescriptions and update aspects of their records.
• The number of apps that help monitor care and provide support for physical and mental health conditions would be expanded.
• It is the Conservatives’ intention to make England the first nation in the world to provide a truly 7 day healthcare service. By 2019 people will be able to obtain routine weekend or evening appointments wherever they live.
• Hospital patients would receive consultant supervision every day, with weekend access to key diagnostic tests to support urgent care.
• Hospitals would be able to discharge emergency admissions at weekends as in the week.
• The scope of the Care Quality Commission would be extended to cover health related services that are commissioned by local authorities.
• The Conservatives commit to working to reduce the stigma and discrimination against people with learning disabilities and autism, fully implementing the Transforming Care programme.

Conservative - Mental Health

• The Conservatives would address the need for better treatments across the whole spectrum of mental health conditions.
• Up to 10,000 more mental health professionals, would be recruited.
• All health service trainees would have an opportunity to work in mental health disciplines.
• Co-ordination would be improved between mental health services and other local services including police and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
• A Conservative government would seek to ensure children and young people have better access to mental health care and publish a Green Paper consultation on young people’s mental health by the end of this year. Primary and secondary school teachers will be trained in mental health first aid by the end of the Parliament.  It is the aim that every school has a single point of contact with mental health services.
• The school curriculum would be revised, so that every child will learn about mental wellbeing and the mental health risks of the internet.
• Child and adolescent mental health services would be reformed, so children with serious conditions are seen in an “appropriate” timeframe and no child will need to leave their local area and family to receive normal treatment.

 Labour - Funding

• Labour will increase funding by £6billion per year by increasing income tax for highest 5% of earners, increasing tax on private medical insurance and halving management consultant fees.
• Labour will increase NHS capital funding to improve buildings and equipment.
• A new Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for health will be set up, to oversee spending.
• The NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans will be replaced by plans based upon patient needs rather than available finances and service closures.
• A new Quality, Safety and Excellence regulator will be established to be called NHS Excellence.

Labour - Access

• Labour would develop a new model of community care, which takes into account primary care, social care and mental health. It’ll do this by increasing support for GPs to ensure patients can access the care they need, halt pharmacy closures, reviewing provision to ensure all patients can access pharmacy services, including in remote and deprived communities would be Rationing of medicines and services would be tackled and postcode lotteries addressed, by a Labour government.
• Value for money agreements with pharmaceutical companies would be insisted upon to give NHS patients fast access to new medicines.
• The UK would become Autism friendly to end isolation for people with Autism.
• Everyone with a long term condition would have the right to a specialised care plan and access to condition management education.
• High quality, personalised end of life care will be ensured, wherever and whenever people need it.
• A Labour government will work with communities, civil society and business to tackle loneliness.

Labour - Mental Health

• Labour intends to protect services by ring-fencing mental health budgets and ensure funding reaches the front line.
• To ensure people can receive treatment and remain close to their support networks, out of area placement will be abolished.
• Labour intends to increase the proportion of mental health budget spent on children and young people. It also intends to ensure that counselling is made available to all secondary school students.
• A Labour government would seek to ensure people obtain their therapy of choice by asking NICE to evaluate the potential for expanding the range of evidenced-based therapies on offer.

Liberal Democrats - Funding

• The Liberal Democrats would introduce a 1p increase in Income Tax, to be directed into social care, primary care (and other out of hospital care), mental health and public health. To replace the 1p tax in the long-term, the Liberal democrats would consult and commission the development of a dedicated health and care tax.
• A national workforce strategy would be developed to ensure there is never a shortage of GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and other professionals.

Liberal Democrats - Access

• Access to community services
• Easier access to GP surgeries, including evening and weekend opening would be promoted.
• Encouragement will be given to GPs to work together in federations.
• Support will be given to GP Practices to prevent mass closures.
• GPs will be supported to collaborate more to provide out of hours services.
• Innovation funding would be used to support GPs to Develop multi-disciplinary hubs and mobile services.
• The ‘Patient Premium’ would be used to encourage GPs and other clinicians to work in disadvantaged areas.
• Changes to pharmacy funding will not result in any community being left without access to pharmacy services.
• The rules for prescription charge exemptions would be reviewed to ensure they are fair to disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

Liberal Democrats - Mental Health

• Revenue from the 1p income tax increase would be ring-fenced to support investment in mental health services.
• National access and waiting standards would be introduced for children, young people and adults, guaranteeing that no-one will wait longer than 6 weeks for therapy for depression or anxiety and 2 weeks for young people experiencing their first psychotic episode.
• The Liberal Democrats commit to ensuring that no-one in crisis is turned away.
• Out of area placements would be halted. Front-line public service professionals would receive better training in mental health.

If you'd like to find out more about the parties manifestos, click the links below:

Conservative 2017 Manifesto

Labour 2017 Manifesto

Liberal Democrats 2017 Manifesto

Every vote will make a difference, so to bring about the future you want, you’ll really need to play your part and vote on 8th June 2017!