5 million extra NHS appointments delivered by Labour Government, welcomed by Marie Tidball MP

Marie Tidball MP, Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has welcomed the news that the Labour Government have delivered 5 million extra NHS appointments in just one year, including 95,000 extra appointments being delivered across Barnsley and Sheffield Hospitals.  

This means that patients across Penistone and Stocksbridge are benefiting from access to quicker care and more convenient appointments, instead of being stuck on long waiting lists.  

This is a result of Labour’s turbocharged efforts across the country, including investing a record £26 billion funding into the NHS, recruiting 2,000 more GPs, and shifting care from hospitals to the community through the Government’s recent Ten Year Health Plan.  

As well as more appointments, Labour's changes also mean waiting lists have already been cut to their lowest level in two years, and care is moving closer to home, giving more time to focus on treatment and recovery.  

This shift is reversing more than a decade of decline and poor access to services under the Conservatives. The government inherited an NHS with some patients waiting as long as 18 months for treatment. It has set an ambition to cut the longest waiting times to 18 weeks by the end of the Parliament.  

Local Penistone and Stocksbridge Labour MP, Marie Tidball, said:  

“Publicly funded healthcare saved my life as a child and enabled me to walk, and now as your local MP, making our NHS fit for the future is one of my top priorities for our constituency.  When I'm out on the doorstep, constituents always raise waiting lists and the need for more NHS appointments as one of the key issues they face.  “When Labour was elected, we promised 2 million extra NHS appointments in the first year. We’ve more than doubled that. Promise made, promise delivered.    “This news is a huge step in the right direction for patients across our communities, and shows that once again, it is a Labour Government is fixing our NHS. There’s so much more to do, and these figures show clearly that this Labour Government is delivering for our communities, and I know that local residents are beginning to feel the benefit.”   

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:   

“One year ago, I made a promise that we would deliver 2 million extra appointments in our first year – not only did we do this in just 5 months, but we have obliterated that target, carrying out over 5 million.  “That is testament to the relentless efforts of NHS staff across the country, alongside key reforms and the extra £26 billion we’re investing to get waiting times down for patients.   “Our 10 Year Health Plan will go even further for people in Penistone and Stocksbridge, driving care out of our busy hospitals and into local communities as we deliver the radical transformation required to fix our broken health service.”