Agenda item

(1)           Motion: NHS Waiting Times

To be moved by Councillor David Perry and seconded by Councillor Natasha Proctor:

“This council notes:

·       2023 marked 75 years of the National Health Service (NHS).

·       Treating over a million people a day in England, the NHS touches all of our lives. When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery.

·       Labour created the NHS. The values built into the NHS’s founding principle that everyone, wherever they live, whatever they earn, should get healthcare that is free at the point of use.

·       The NHS in Harrow is facing both an unprecedented immediate crisis and a long-term challenge. Despite having a dedicated workforce locally, right now, the NHS is not working.

·       Nearly 14 years of Conservative led Government policy has run our once proud National Health Service into a critical state with morale amongst local doctors, nurses and staff in Harrow at an all-time low.

·       Long waits to see a GP, ambulances that can’t get to people in time to save lives, dangerously long queues in A&E, over 7.5 million people on waiting lists for hospital treatment – a system at breaking point.

·       The NHS in Harrow is at a critical point with waiting times much worse than the national average.

The Council believes:

·       It is the responsibility of the local authority to show leadership and help bring agencies together to campaign for change and champion local residents concerns with regards to local health provision.

·       The current waiting times at LONDON NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST are unacceptable and the residents of Harrow deserve a better service from Northwick Park Hospital and other health agencies.

·       Residents in Harrow are waiting too long for NHS treatment, in December 2023 the median wait for all treatments in Harrow was 18.2 weeks following referral.

·       Furthermore, 52.6% of residents in Harrow had to wait more than four hours to be seen in A&E in January 2024 and the NHS waiting list has grown to record levels as the rate at which patients are removed can't keep pace.

·       Cancer treatment waiting times are far longer in Harrow than current NHS targets – seriously impacting residents life chances.

The Council resolves to:

·       Call on the Leader of the Council and Leader of the Opposition to demand a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health to highlight the local circumstances being faced by Harrow residents experiencing excessive local waiting times at Northwick Park Hospital.

·       The Council to invite the local Chief Executive and / or other Senior Health Representatives to a future meeting of Full Council and to invite local residents and Councillors alike to raise concerns and increase the participation locally so future services can be more resident led. To enable this important request to take place in the public interest all relevant steps should be taken through the Constitutional Review Working Group to facilitate this measure.”