Labour is working

[andrewducker]

When Labour came to power in 1997, there were 21,474 consultants in the NHS - there are now 31,210.  On that day there were 28,046 GPs - there are now 32,194.

That's a 50% increase in consultants and a 15% increase in GPs.

In the last year, nursing shortages have dropped from 2.6% to 19.% - the 5th successive yearly fall.

At the end of June there were 43,200 patients waiting longer than six months for treatment in English hospitals - down 6,400 since the end of May and 31,600 since June 2004.

It's not sorted yet - but then doctors take 7 years to train, so it's not the kind of problem you can solve overnight.

And no, this isn't some kind of blanket support for all things Labour - but good news about the NHS seems to get very little publicity, so I thought it should be shared around.

All figures from the BBC here.

Comments

[andrewducker]

the problem, sadly, seems to be that they're better than the current alternatives.

[azalemeth.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Like internet explorer, they are "good enough". The Lib Dems wouldn't be bad in power, they just have the political punch of a bowl of fruit-juice. Kennedy is a nice enough person - and his policies seem to make sense (for the most part...) it's just that he wouldn't be able to make a killing in an abattoir - his speeches lack conviction (well, so do blair's, but most people are fooled well enough) and his attacks don't appeal to the voter. Which is a shame. But yeah, I agree with you...