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To: Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health

Why are we waiting in Totnes

We are demanding that the Government urgently publish and deliver a REAL, properly resourced plan to tackle the backlog crisis in primary care - including GP, urgent and emergency, and mental health services. Until they do, we'll all still be waiting.

Why is this important?

During the pandemic, and over the last 75 years, our NHS and its dedicated workers have provided us with the critical health care we need in our daily lives. But right now, the NHS is struggling and could reach breaking point unless we act.

According to 38 Degrees research:

• 45% of us in Totnes have said that we or a family member had experienced difficulty booking an appointment with a local GP in the last year.
• 12% of us in Totnes are reporting bad or very bad health, up from 6% in 2011
• Nationally the number of people reporting bad or very bad health in Great Britain has DOUBLED since the 2011 census - from 6% to 12%
• Up to 2 million people are effectively on an NHS “shadow waiting list”, waiting to be referred for primary care treatment

The Government has failed to fix this problem in their backlog plan, and we need that to change.

Steve Barclay, as Secretary of State for Health, is responsible for fixing the backlog in England. There's still no meaningful plan to address access to primary care, despite how important this is to the public. We are demanding that Steve Barclay urgently publish and deliver a REAL, properly resourced plan to tackle the backlog in primary care. Until then, we'll all still be waiting.

Source: Large-sample research and MRP analysis on the NHS backlog conducted by Survation on behalf of 38 Degrees. Fieldwork was conducted between 8th and 21st of June 2022. Population sampled: 10,079 residents 18+ living in Great Britain.

Totnes

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2022-07-22 22:11:58 +0100

25 signatures reached

2022-07-22 16:34:09 +0100

10 signatures reached