Local Conservatives will be presenting the NHS with its biggest birthday card ever to celebrate its 60^th birthday. The anniversary of the National Health Service falls on 5^th July. An electronic card, which everyone can sign, is at: www.happybirthdaynhs.co.uk

“On the 60th anniversary of the NHS, I applaud the hard work of NHS staff past and present. The staff are key to its success and I admire their commitment, often in difficult circumstances. The NHS binds us together nationally and it is of enormous importance locally,” said Trevor Ivory.

The Conservative Leader, David Cameron, has published new plans on how to improve the NHS to help save even more lives. His proposals include:

·             Scrapping top-down Whitehall targets which distort clinical care – for example, crude targets for waiting times in A&E, has led to the indignity of patients being left in ‘trolley waiting areas’ and ambulances.

·             Focusing instead on outcomes, looking at the results of treatment – such as survival rates and patients’ satisfaction.

·             Publishing more information about the quality of NHS care, including league tables for mortality in heart by-pass and valve surgery.

“We should mark this historic milestone by looking at ways of improving the NHS. We need to give more information to patients and focus on improving outcomes - not ticking Labour’s Whitehall boxes. Rather than constant, costly reorganisations, as we have seen under this Government, we should allow doctors and nurses to get on with their job of saving lives,” Mr Ivory added.