Kate Osborne MP reflects on the state of the NHS as she recovers from surgery

Since my last column there has been an awful lot happening personally and politically.

This week we have seen the first 750 schools open their breakfast clubs, we have announced an investment of £270 million so that UK arts can flourish, passed a new law banning bonuses for water bosses who pollute our rivers, lakes and seas, brought in life saving measures to protect women and girls from stalking and increased Defence spending to 2.5% from April 2027.

Finally under our Labour Government we are seeing NHS waiting lists coming down, the Labour Party met our promise for 2.2 million extra NHS appointments, and patients getting appointments and operations that they need - as I experienced for myself last week.

After a long wait thanks to the Tories’ destruction of our NHS, under a Labour Government I finally had the surgery I needed on my neck, I had a C5/C6 and C6-7 anterior cervical discectomy - that means I had two metal cages put into my neck with six screws and steel plates to hold it all in place.

This won’t solve all of my neck and spine problems but it will, when I am recovered, alleviate a lot of the pain I have been in for the last few years. (My family and team have made various jokes about me now being the bionic woman, iron man, Robo Kate… have to say I banned anyone calling me the Iron lady…)

It will take me around three months (hopefully) to recover, and in that time I can’t travel so I will be recovering at home in Jarrow and Gateshead East.

My good friend and colleague Kim Johnson, the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Riverside, will cast my vote in Parliament and my office will still be working delivering for the people of Jarrow and Gateshead East.

Of course you can all still contact me on e-mail and I will be doing as many zooms as possible from home.

Today, a week after my op, I have had many virtual meetings including with Peter from Pride Media and Hebburn FC and the FA to make sure the investment project continues to progress and I made it into the office to go through some of the cases from my street surgeries!

Despite its importance, the NHS was run into the ground, pushed to its limits, underfunded, and neglected by the previous Government. One of the Tories’ biggest failures was NHS dentistry, where getting an NHS appointment is now impossible.

I was contacted by a large number of constituents who informed me that they received a letter from their dental practice in Jarrow advising them that they were no longer able to receive NHS dental treatment, giving them the option of joining the practice privately (approximately £20 per month not covering treatment) or find another NHS dentist in the area.

Yet there are no NHS dentists in the area taking new patients!

The North East is a dental desert, with the vast majority of NHS dental surgeries being unable to take on any new adult patients.

After 14 years of Tory rule, rotting teeth are the most common reason for children aged between five and nine being admitted to hospital.

The North East is one of the worst places in the country for rotten teeth. It is a disgrace that people - many of whom have been part of the dental practice for decades – are being left with no other option but to pay privately.

The North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board have replied to me saying it is their intention to replace this lost capacity as quickly as possible.

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I find it unacceptable that patients are being put in a position where they either have to pay for private care or lose access to dental services altogether.

The impact this will have on children, vulnerable people and pregnant women is huge.

Minister Stephen Kinnock MP has announced an additional 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments will soon be available nationwide and I will keep fighting to ensure there are NHS appointments in our area as soon as possible.

We know there is still so much more to do, waiting lists are still in the millions, people cannot get GP appointments, we still have delays in ambulance response times and people waiting in corridors - but just like my neck, the NHS is well on its way to recovery thanks to our Labour Government.

Personal thanks to all the nurses, doctors, consultants, physios, anaesthetists, porters and office staff who have looked after me on this journey so far.

I want to thank them all for their excellent care and thanks to my brilliant team in the MPs office.

Please do email me about this or anything else [email protected].