Here's what your Peterborough election candidates have to say about the NHS

We asked the 2024 Election candidates for the Peterborough constituency to tell us what they thought about the current state of the NHS, and comment on hospital and dentistry waiting times.

Nick Sandford (Liberal Democrats)

Nick Sandford is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Peterborough. (Image: Nick Sandford)

"Good health gives people the freedom to live their lives as they choose. A thriving economy needs a healthy population.

Universal high-quality healthcare, free at the point of use and easily accessible, is therefore essential for both individual freedom and national prosperity.

Statistics repeatedly show Peterborough's very poor health outcomes compared to neighbouring areas.

And 14 years of Tory government have seen this situation get worse, not better.

In this election, the Lib Dems have policies that will specifically address these issues, as we have put health and social care at the front and centre of our campaign.

We propose a fully funded package of measures totalling £9bn to recruit 8,000 new GPs, guaranteeing everyone speedy access to a doctor: within seven days for routine appointments and within 24 hours for urgent matters.

We will also end Peterborough's unwanted status as a desert for NHS dentistry by fixing the broken NHS Dental Contract to incentivise dentists back into the NHS from the private sector. 

We propose to improve early access to mental health services by establishing mental health hubs for young people in every community.

Lib Dem investment would help boost cancer survival rates by introducing a guarantee for 100 per cent of patients to start treatment for cancer within 62 days from urgent referral.

Crucially, we will properly fund social care: increasing wages for paid carers and supporting those who provide unpaid care to family members and giving free personal care to everyone in the country who needs it."

Paul Bristow (Conservatives)

Paul Bristow is the Conservative candidate for Peterborough. (Image: Paul Bristow)

"Being elected to represent Peterborough, my home city, was one of the proudest moments of my life. And being our city’s MP is the best job imaginable.

As the son of two NHS nurses, with a background in the healthcare sector, local provision has been a key priority of mine.

From getting more NHS dentists to ensuring constituents get the IVF packages that people in other areas receive, it has been a constant focus.

I served on the Health Select Committee in Parliament, which was particularly intensive during the pandemic. Thankfully, we got through that difficult time, although not without heartache and loss, some personal.

Getting services and waiting lists back to normal requires more than just the record funding the government has provided. It means doing things differently.

That’s why our new NHS Community Diagnostics Centre will be so important. It is set to provide 67,000 extra tests and scans, massively enhancing our local capacity for CT scans, ultrasounds, x-rays and blood tests.

Two new wards are also under construction at Peterborough City Hospital, providing 72 extra beds in time for the winter, when demand is highest.

I am also working on delivering two brand new NHS dentist surgeries in Peterborough by working with local providers such as Dr Neil Modha at the Thistlemoor Medical Centre.

The pandemic didn’t make it easy, but we are getting it done."

Nicola Day (Green Party)

Nicola Day is the Green Party candidate for Peterborough. (Image: Nicola Day)

"The Green Party know that the NHS is facing the most serious crisis in its 80 year history.

The long-term underfunding of the NHS has left nearly eight million procedures unmet on waiting lists.

The Green Party would agree an inflation matching pay settlement to retain valued skilled staff.

We would invest £8bn into operations to retain staff and met recruitment needs in the first year alongside a £4bn capital investment per year during this parliament to replace crumbling hospitals.

We would push for a year-on-year reduction on waiting lists. Guaranteed rapid access to a GP and same day access in case of urgent need.

We would create a new NHS dentists' contract so that dentists are properly rewarded for taking on NHS patients and invest in NHS dentistry reaching £3bn a year by 2030.

We would fund community hubs and primary care to roll out free dental nursing for children and those on low incomes."

Tom Rogers (Christian Peoples Alliance)

Tom Rogers is the Christian Peoples Alliance candidate for Peterborough (Image: CPA)

"As taxpayers we pay enough for the NHS and should be able to get a GP appointment when necessary.

Having to join the “8.30am phone lottery”, and then, if we’re lucky, have the GP call us back at a totally random and inconvenient time of the day would be considered appalling customer service in any other sector.

It’s not just a case of more money required, however, but also major efficiency reforms for the system.

There are 27 health Quangos, for example — none of them treat a single patient, but cost billions to run.

We’d slash superfluous pen pushers, as well as woke diversity schemes, and divert the money into frontline services, especially more doctors, nurses and dentists.

We’d encourage the internal market by restoring GP fundholding, a scheme which worked well in the 1990s, with GPs managing their own budgets and able to reinvest cost savings back into improving and expanding their practices.

Securing the long-term viability of the NHS means addressing our nation’s rapidly ageing population, resulting from decades of below-replacement-level birth rates.

Only the CPA has the policies and political will to promote marriage and raising children through its system of grants and tax allowances."

The candidates for the Peterborough constituency are: 

Paul Bristow (Conservatives)

Nicola Day (Green Party) 

Amjad Hussain (Workers Party of Britain)

Zahid Ejaz Khan (Independent)

Sue Morris (Reform UK) 

Andrew Pakes (Labour)

Tom Rogers (Christian Peoples Alliance)

Nick Sandford (Liberal Democrats)