Gareth Bromhall, Ambulance service worker in Wales
Our NHS is crumbling. Figuratively, yes, but also literally!
Only 62% of buildings owned and operated by Betsi Cadwaladr – the body that runs north Wales NHS – are considered operationally safe. It’s estimated that £350 million is needed to bring these buildings up to code. And this is just for one health board in one nation. It is a striking example of the effect of NHS cuts.
In the last 12 months, there have been 450 leaks of physical sewage or sewage gas into wards and NHS buildings in England – putting patient safety and the integrity of these buildings at risk. Another glaring indictment of the ideological underfunding and undermining of the health service.
£10 billion is needed to fill the hole in the maintenance budget that currently exists, let alone improve, expand and modernise these sites to ensure our NHS is fit for the 21st century.
Boris Johnson promised 40 new hospitals, and the £350 million a week for the NHS promised during the Brexit referendum never materialised. It’s clear that the Tories won’t ever do what’s needed to maintain and improve the NHS. And Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting have said that Labour will extend the tentacles of the private sector into our health system.
In order to defend, maintain and expand our NHS, we need a fully funded, and fully publicly owned and controlled health service, under democratic workers’ control, and planned to meet the needs of our class.
