Labour Leader hits the right notes with nurses

Published: 18 May 2012

The Leader of the Labour party and Leader of HM opposition, Ed Miliband, spoke at congress on Tuesday (15 May), receiving a friendly reception from the auditorium of nurses and carers.

After Andrew Lansley’s poor reception the day before, Ed Miliband struck a completely different note with conference attendees, by defending the NHS and the nurse’s role within it, stating that he would hold the Government to account for the changes in the NHS, which are leading to service fragmentation and cuts to nurses and vital services.

Mr Miliband hailed nurses as the 'the defenders of the health service' and thanked them for the hard mental, physical and emotional work they do. He stated: “Our health service is owned by patients, professionals and the people. And their voice - your voice - deserves to be heard”.

Representatives from the South West were well represented in the Congress auditorium with a number of South West Reps asking important questions, including:

Charles Connibear, Devon branch chair, who asked: “Mr Miliband how would you address the shortfalls in community and social services support, which prevent inappropriate admissions to acute hospitals and specialist units, as well as delayed discharge - leading to cancellation of planned surgery without extending the waiting lists again?”

For which Miliband answered by stating that it was an essential issue that Labour, if they returned to power, would have to seriously get to grips with if it is to sort out the problems of social care within the NHS.