The Government will today issue a rallying cry to the nation to 'help fix our NHS'. Writing for The Northern Echo, Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock urges North East folk to make their voices heard.

Today, we’re launching the biggest national conversation about the state and future of our health and care service since the creation of the NHS in 1948.

It’s an historic opportunity for Northern Echo readers to tell us what works in your area, what doesn’t, and to share your thoughts on how together we can fix our broken health service.

Your views will shape our plans for radical reforms that will help us secure its existence for another 76 years, and beyond.

Here in the North East of England, your voices matter as much as they do in any other part of the country, because the challenges facing the NHS affect us all, whoever we are and wherever we live.

(Image: PA)

A&E wait times vary hugely for patients across the north of England, where it is too often a postcode lottery. For example, just over 61 per cent of patients attending the A&E department in North Cumbria were seen within four hours in September 2024. In Northumbria, that figure was almost 90 per cent.

And even where performance is strong against a national comparison, it’s still not where we want it to be. For example, the North West and North East Ambulance Services had some of the fastest Category 2 response times in the country on average at 28 and 29 minutes respectively in September, but they still fall some way below the agreed NHS standard of 18 minutes.

If we’re to improve things for staff and patients we need to understand why these variations exist, and we need a plan to deliver to standards across the board.

Our amazing NHS and care staff are already pulling out all the stops to give us the best treatment and support they can, but after fourteen years of Tory neglect and incompetence they are hampered by bureaucracy, red tape, and bad decisions not of their making.

Our NHS belongs to everyone, so in this nationwide conversation we’re launching today every voice will matter, every opinion will have equal value, every experience will tell us more about the NHS today, and every insight will help us to shape the future together.

So, whether you work in or with the NHS, are a patient, or someone employed in the wider health and care sector, we really want to hear from you.

More than 100 in-person events will take place nationwide, including here in the northeast, providing a once in a generation opportunity to share your opinions directly with us.

An independent investigation conducted by Lord Darzi confirmed the NHS is in a critical condition, and we believe nothing less than fundamental reform can save it.

Your views will play a key role in shaping our 10-Year Plan that will get our health and care service back on their feet and fit for the future.

Our plan focuses will focus on three transformational shifts – moving from an analogue to a digital NHS, transferring more care from hospitals to communities, and being bolder in moving from sickness to prevention.

We know where we want to get to – a patient records and appointments at your fingertips via the NHS App; Neighbourhood Health Service that places care in the heart of communities; and people living longer, healthier and happier lives that can because they aren’t held back by poor health.

Our NHS may be broken, but it’s certainly not beaten.

Since I became the Minister for Care after the General Election I’ve travelled around the country and met staff, patients and community groups. And everywhere I go I see frustration mixed with inspiration. People are totally committed to our NHS, but they are also very unhappy and anxious about the state it’s in following a decade of poor government.

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So we understand the scale of the challenge, and we’re not looking for sticking plaster solutions.

We’re looking for real, sustainable cures to secure the future of our health and care service.

And with your help, we’ll find them.

To give your views on the 10-Year Health Plan consultation, visit Change.NHS.uk.