Cllr Tim Douglas writes about Lib Dem plans for future healthcare funding

Councillor Tim Douglas (Paddox Ward) has written to the local papers about the future of funding for health and social care services following recommendations from a panel of experts in a report on healthcare reform commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.

Dear Editor,

We will all rely, at some stage, on our NHS and social care system to treat and support us or our loved ones. Therefore, last week I was very pleased that the Liberal Democrats worked with expert healthcare professionals to launch a report on future healthcare funding. The report provides some convincing answers on arguably the greatest domestic crisis facing the country - how to deal with the severe pressures on health and care services and retain the staff who selflessly keep it going. We must never again be in a position whereby funding is so short that more than 50,000 operations have had to be postponed over the course of a single month. The report says that the health and care budget should be financed by an earmarked tax, which could replace national insurance. It also says to create an Office for Budget Responsibility for Health and provide additional revenue for local authorities to invest in public health. These decisions are never easy but Liberal Democrats want to find proper funding for our health services; seek innovation in the way it does its work and involve people much more in the crucial decisions about their own health and that of their families and community. That's surely something worth paying for.

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Tim Douglas

Rugby Liberal Democrats

The report can be read in full here: http://bit.ly/2o1DGZD