NHS patients write to new Health Secretary
Patient Leaders of Just Treatment’s NHS Crisis campaign have written to the new Health Secretary - James Murray - to welcome him into the role and reiterate the changes that we urgently need to see in order to protect patients and the NHS.
Just a few weeks ago NHS patients Mathew and Müge met with former Health Secretary Wes Streeting. They shared their personal experiences of being failed by NHS underinvestment and corporate profiteering, and presented a list of ten demands for change.
Our campaigning will not be deterred by a change of Health Secretary. In fact, we now have a real opportunity to pressure James Murray to chart a different course.
Below you can read the full letter that was sent to him ⬇️
Dear Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Rt Hon James Murray,
As patients involved in Just Treatment’s NHS Crisis campaign, we’d firstly like to welcome you to your new post. We are writing to you at a critical moment for the NHS, when the gap between policy commitments and patients’ experiences is becoming increasingly stark.
We are people who have been personally impacted by the crisis in the NHS - some of us have lost loved ones because ambulances didn’t come for hours when they should have arrived in minutes, others of us have suffered traumatic experiences because care was not provided when it should have been.
Last month, we met with your predecessor Wes Streeting MP, more than 500 days after we first requested a meeting. We shared with him our personal experiences of being failed by NHS underinvestment and corporate profiteering, and we presented a list of ten questions about changes we want to see for patients and the NHS.
Wes Streeting and his staff team agreed to respond to us within a month. As the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care we would expect that you will honour the commitment made by the Department regarding our requests, and we would also be happy to meet with you should that be helpful. Policy must be shaped by the experiences of those who have been the most impacted by its failures.
We ask that you please confirm receipt of this letter, and advise as to when we can expect a response to our list of ten questions.
Kind regards,
Just Treatment Patient Leaders