Public’s Angel of the North NHS message to Wes Streeting: We’re watching

As the government prepares to unveil its 10-Year Plan for the NHS, the 38 Degrees community beamed powerful messages onto the iconic Angel of the North: “One million of us will be watching, every step of the way” and “the NHS is ours, it belongs to all of us”.

Thanks to thousands of us chipping in a few pounds each, we sent an unmistakable signal to the government that the public is watching and wants positive change fast.

Images of NHS founder Nye Bevan’s eyes appeared alongside direct messages to Health Secretary Wes Streeting with a clear message: the new plan must deliver the improvements voters are demanding for our beloved NHS.

Ahead of the launch, we’ve also unveiled “The People’s Priorities for our NHS” which are six crucial tests which we developed with policy experts IPPR and thousands of public contributors.

These tests will form an annual “traffic light” scorecard. They’ll assess how well the government’s plan delivers on what matters most to the public: from easier access to services and improved quality of care to making the NHS a better place to work.

Recent polling data we commissioned revealed a shocking crisis in healthcare access across England, with one in five people (20%) resorting to paying for private healthcare in the last 12 months. 

This was often due to long NHS waitlists or a belief in better private care. Dentistry topped the list for private use at 28%, followed by medical diagnoses at 22%.

This is a huge day in the life of the National Health Service. Since before last year’s General Election, hundreds of thousands of us  have been crying out for change to rescue it. Now, all eyes are on the Government as they tell us how they actually plan to make that change, and the 38 Degrees community will be watching every step of the way.