A plan has been unveiled to improve healthcare after it was ‘abandoned’ by the Conservatives.

Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh, is fighting for every patient to see their GP in under seven days.

Under the current Tory leadership, Liz claims thousands of patients in the borough are facing ‘agonisingly long waits’ after services were ‘driven to the ground’.

But these claims have been rebuked by Conservative candidate for Eastleigh, Samuel Joynson.

According to data from NHS Digital’s Appointments in General Practice December 2023 publication, 1,845,132 appointments took over two weeks to get underway in Hampshire last year.

This equates to 18.6 per cent of appointments.

Meanwhile, 529,470 of those appointments took longer than a month.

Liz said: “Thousands of patients in Eastleigh are facing agonisingly long waits, often in terrible pain, whilst waiting to see their GP.

“The Conservative party have proven themselves totally unfit to run our NHS. They have abandoned local health services and it is patients bearing the brunt of their neglect.

“It should not be too much to ask for patients to be able to see their GP when they need to.

“That is why the Liberal Democrats have committed to a fair deal for this community’s patients and legal right to see a GP within a week.”

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The Lib Dems propose to increase the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8,000 and introduce a 24/7 GP booking system.

Despite their proposals, Sam Joynson stands firm by the fact the Lib Dems will not be in Government in six weeks’ time.

He said: “Locally, I was the one that organised Eastleigh’s petition to save the A&E and consultant-led maternity services at Winchester Hospital.

“I secured roughly 1000 signatures, met with the CEO of the Hampshire Hospitals on multiple occasions, and spoke on behalf of residents against the closures at every single public consultation meeting held in Eastleigh.

“In contrast, the Eastleigh Lib Dem and Labour parliamentary candidates did not show up to a single public consultation meeting on the issue – I would therefore take their alleged passion for the local NHS with a pinch of salt.”

But the Lib Dems are not the only ones with a plan for healthcare in Eastleigh.

Daniel Shearer, Labour Parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh, said: “The Liberal Democrat candidate has recently published her five-year plan for the NHS.

“Voters in Eastleigh haven’t forgotten it was the Lib Dems in the coalition government that  signed off the decade of cuts that has resulted in the state of our public services today.”

He added: “Labour will bring back the family doctor to our local GP practices and harness the power of the NHS app to make appointments. Gone will be the days of the 8am scramble, instead you’ll be able to see a GP when you need one.

“We’ll pay for this by clamping down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.”