Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, used a speech in the House of Commons to set out short, medium and long term suggestions for improving the NHS.
Since he was first elected to Parliament in December 2019, Dr Evans has worked on healthcare policy, helped to secure billions in funding for NHS productivity improvements and spent two and a half years, including over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, on the Health and Social Care Select Committee.
The GP-turned-MP used the start of his speech to set out four ways the new Government could improve the NHS in the short term, from issues with European working time directives and means of communicating with patients to the need for a “root and branch review into prescribing,” which Dr Evans said was “one of the most wasteful things in the NHS.”
“For the medium term,” Dr Evans continued, “I would like statementing when people go into the NHS. Everyone knows how much it costs when they go to America — £40,000 for a ski accident. It costs that much here, and people would do well to remember that when they do not turn up to their appointments.”
Other improvements the local MP cited was better training for NHS staff on how they can use IT – which Dr Evans has repeatedly said requires modernisation – and capping of GP lists following the Conservative Government’s £2.4bn NHS Workforce Plan.
Long term changes the MP suggested include an NHS centre for clinical excellence to share best practice and a national service for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) which takes education and health together to deal with mental health.
Dr Evans said “Some 40% of the child and adolescent mental health services referrals in Leicestershire relate to autism and ADHD. That is a real problem that could easily be solved.”
Speaking after the debate Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, added “When I was working in the NHS and questioned why things were done a certain way, I’d be told ‘you’re too young [to change things]’ or ‘that’s the way we’ve always done things’. So, as cheesy as it sounds, I came into politics not to change the world but to solve it.
“Over the past five years I’ve been able to secure a lot of improvements – including securing over £34m for a Community Diagnostic Centre and Day Case Unit at Hinckley Hospital – but there is lots more to be done.
“As any good doctor would do, I have set out my suggestions for the short, medium and long term ways we can improve the NHS and, most importantly, the lives of staff and patients.”
