With millions languishing on waiting lists, deadly delays to urgent care and burnt out staff leaving in their thousands, the crisis in our NHS could not be more stark. 

Meanwhile, private healthcare is booming. Record numbers of patients are being forced to pay out of pocket in order to be seen quicker. Private providers are being paid enormous sums to deliver procedures that should be done by the NHS. We are hurtling towards a two-tier health system where our public health service crumbles, and only those who can afford to pay receive decent care.

Yet none of the major political parties are offering real solutions to tackle this crisis. We urgently need increased investment, fair pay for NHS staff, and an end to the outsourcing of NHS services. 

We know that the NHS will be an election-defining issue for voters. The scale of the NHS crisis means that millions of people are being impacted. Recent polling found that 70% of voters are more likely to support an election candidate that’s committed to increasing investment in the NHS. Just Treatment is a firmly non-partisan campaign - this isn’t about convincing people to vote a certain way. It’s about using the unique opportunity of an election to push politicians across the political spectrum to strengthen their policy commitments.

We know that politicians want to win seats, and care about media image. After 5 years of significant political turbulence, this election has the potential to deliver major upsets in seats across the country. Candidates across the major parties are desperate to maintain their image, and with the NHS one of the top issues on voters' minds they are vulnerable to negative stories that portray their plans for our health service as totally inadequate.

We know that human stories are one of the most powerful tools for grabbing headlines. We’ve seen time and again that when politicians come face-to-face with powerful stories from people they are supposed to represent, it can go viral online and become a headline news story that reaches millions and sets the political agenda. The general election is a rare opportunity for ordinary people to confront politicians on the street to demonstrate the disconnect between public anger and their deeply underwhelming plans for the NHS.

We will identify powerful NHS stories and support patients to share them. We’ll work with a group of people who have been seriously impacted by the near collapse of NHS systems over the last few years, and we will train them up to speak confidently about their story in public, as well as the real solutions our NHS desperately needs - increased investment, fair pay for staff, and a reversal of privatisation.

We will target marginal constituencies and influential politicians. To maximise our impact, we will focus our efforts on a list of critical constituencies with the tightest races, and on the most high profile politicians. We’ll identify opportunities for patients and loved ones to challenge candidates face-to-face and support them to hold truth to power.

We will use the press and social media to amplify our impact. By using video content and media channels we can spread the word about these patient-led actions, spark debate and shift the public conversation on healthcare policy during the election period to one focused on whether there is anywhere close to enough ambition in their manifesto commitments.

Step 1: Hone down our target lists. In the coming weeks we will be doing further research into the most strategic constituencies and politicians to focus our efforts on.

Step 2: Recruit and train people with stories. Next, we’ll get to work finding people in these places with powerful lived experiences and providing them with the tools they need to speak out.

Step 3: Identify opportunities for action. Then, we’ll be on the lookout for any events which provide a chance for patients to directly engage with political candidates, and we’ll make a plan to get them to the right place at the right time.

Step 4: Generate content which goes viral and grabs headlines. When we’re able to create these moments, we’ll make sure we capture them through videos which we’ll share online, and we’ll pitch patient voices to local and national press too.

Step 5: Keep the pressure up. Our work won’t stop at polling day. The first 100 days of the new government will also be a critical window to set the political agenda for the years to come. Just because a policy doesn’t make it into an election manifesto, doesn’t mean parties won’t commit to it if they recognise it as an opportunity to win public favour.