Conservative Party: Our contract for a better NHS

David Cameron has launched the Conservatives' contract for a better NHS.

Speaking in Rush Green, Romford, he praised the NHS as "the thing I care about most", and set out three key health policies.

"First of all we will increase health spending every year by more than inflation", he said, pointing out that this couldn't be done for all other departments but that the NHS is special.

His second point was that the Conservatives "will fund those extra cancer drugs that people need and make sure services are available in our NHS".

"It's a tragedy today that people have had to mortgage their house or borrow money to get cancer drugs that their doctors want them to have."

Third, he said the contract is also with the staff in our NHS, "who do such an incredible job".

"I think in recent years they haven’t been valued enough, you have been covered in processes and box ticking and targets and bureaucracy", he said.

Click here to read David's speech

Click here to download the contract, or read it below.

Back the NHS

We will:

• never change the core values of the NHS – that comprehensive healthcare in this country is available to all, free, and based on need, not ability to pay; and,
• increase spending on the NHS every year.

Give patients more choice

We will:

• give you the right to choose your GP, your hospital and the consultant responsible for your care;
• publish detailed data about the performance of healthcare providers online, so everyone will know who is providing a good service and who is falling behind; and,
• measure the NHS’s success against the results that matter to you – such as whether you survive cancer or a heart attack, or reducing infections like MRSA.

Trust doctors and nurses

We will:

• end box-ticking and scrap politically-motivated process targets, so that doctors and nurses can focus on helping you get better;
• cut NHS bureaucracy by a third and get the money to the frontline; and,
• give NHS staff the right and duty to report any concerns over patient safety.

Increase access to drugs and services

We will:

• make sure that NHS urgent care is available to you 24/7, and that you can see a GP in your area between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week;
• stop the forced closed of A&E and maternity services, and create local ‘maternity networks’ so that mothers can get the care they need;
• increase the number of single rooms in hospitals, in order to fight infections and end mixed-sex wards;
• create a £200 million Cancer Drugs Fund, and reform the way the NHS buys drugs, so that every patient has access to the treatments they need; and,
• provide dental checks for every five year-old and give a million more people access to an NHS dentist.

Give patients more control over long-term care

We will:

• if you have a long-term illness, give you control of the money that the government spends on your nursing and social care so that you can arrange your care in the way that best suits you;
• protect disability benefits and make sure carers get respite breaks;
• provide proper funding for children’s hospices and all end-of-life care so that you can choose whether to spend your last days in hospital, in a hospice or at home;
• stop you having to sell your home to pay for residential care by giving you the option of paying a one-off, voluntary insurance premium on retirement; and,
• provide support at home, so you can remain living independently in your own home if possible.

Improve public health

We will:

• focus on preventing people from getting ill in the first place, through the promotion of good health and effective screening for diseases;
• devolve public health spending to local communities, and pay them according to how successful they are in improving their residents’ health;
• weight public health funding towards the poorest and least healthy areas; and
• make sure people with mental health problems can get the treatment they need by increasing access to ‘talking’ therapies.