I joined the local community, NHS staff, and the Mayor of St Helens at the Mansion House in Victoria Park for St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group Annual General Meeting and a local celebration of the 70th anniversary of the forming of the NHS. The event saw music provided by the Cowley school choir, poetry readings and afternoon tea.

Tens of thousands of lives across St Helens North have been improved by our NHS and Labour will always stand up for our health service for the generations to come. It remains Labour’s greatest ever achievement, and one of our most cherished institutions. 

But we must fight to ensure it is properly resourced and funded in the years to come. With 700,000 more people on waiting lists, over one million more people waiting longer than four hours in A&E, over 230,000 more people spending more than four hours waiting on a trolley for a bed and 9,600 more people waiting over two months for their first cancer treatment, it is clear the NHS is creaking at the seams despite the best efforts of hardworking and dedicated NHS staff.

This Government must urgently come up with a proper plan to rescue our NHS that is fully funded and can stand the test of rising demand from an ageing population.