Labour promises to give NHS £37bn in ‘new deal’ for healthcare Labour has promised a “new deal” for the NHS, announcing that it will give the country’s cash-strapped health service an […]

Labour has promised a “new deal” for the NHS, announcing that it will give the country’s cash-strapped health service an extra £37bn over the course of the next Parliament if it wins the general election.

The party said the plans, set to be unveiled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday, would also result in at least one million people being taken off NHS waiting lists by 2022 thanks to an 18-week treatment guarantee.

“In the past seven years the Tories have driven our National Health Service into crisis” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Jeremy Corbyn

The money will include £10bn of capital funding to ensure that NHS buildings and IT systems are fit for purpose, in the wake of last week’s cyber attack which suggested that many trusts are still reliant on outdated computer systems.

Labour insisted that the cash injection coupled with tough new targets on waiting times would allow it to fix England’s “broken A&Es”, guaranteeing that all patients are seen within four hours of arriving at hospital.

The party will also promise to create a new £500m “winter pressures fund” to help hospitals around the country cope with the regular surges in demand which take place during cold weather.

It said the money for the “fully funded” proposals would be raised by increasing income tax for the top 5 per cent of earners, as well as raising corporation tax and insurance premium tax on private medical insurance.

Announcing the proposals during a speech at the Royal College of Nurses conference, Mr Corbyn will say his party plans to “put the NHS back on its feet”.

New A&E target

He will add: “This is about having a health service for the many. In the past seven years the Tories have driven our National Health Service into crisis.

“A&E departments are struggling to cope. Waiting lists are soaring and, and as we saw last week, Tory cuts have exposed patient services to cyber attack.

“Imagine what would happen to the NHS if the Conservatives under Theresa May were to have another five years in power.

“It would be unrecognisable: a National Health Service in name, cut back, broken up and plundered by private corporations.”

Under Labour’s plans, a new A&E waiting time target would be introduced with the aim of ensuring that the most urgent patients are seen within one hour.

It would also create a new target to tackle the problem of delayed discharge, ensuring that 80 per cent of patients leave hospital within a week of being deemed ready for release.

The party also wants to set more ambitious targets for cancer referrals, halving the time that most patients begin their treatment from 62 days to four weeks.

It also aims to deliver the NHS’s existing Cancer Strategy for England in full by 2020.

Responding to the announcement, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “Jeremy Corbyn can’t deliver any of this because his nonsensical economic policies would damage our economy and mean less money for the NHS, not more.

“Just look at Wales, where Labour cut funding for the NHS.”