The Royal College of Physicians has issued a statement following the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton, welcoming a focus on health and care, and their commitment to provide robust opposition to the new government on these issues.
Dr Mumtaz Patel said: “Over the past few days, the RCP has been in Brighton meeting with key Liberal Democrat stakeholders and participating in roundtable discussions with public health colleagues. It was clear that there is an appetite to hold the current government to account on the promises it made in its manifesto.
“Daisy Cooper MP (Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson) and Sir Ed Davey MP’s (leader of the Liberal Democrats) speeches rightly focussed on the need for further investment in the NHS to tackle waiting lists and the need to ensure that we have a social care system able to support patients and reduce demand. It is, however, vital that we continue to make the case for holistic action across government to reduce health inequalities tackle and all the social determinants of health.
“That is why the RCP and the RCP-convened Inequalities in Health Alliance have written to new government ministers to call for an explicit cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.”