I know from conversations with residents that patients in Crawley are frequently finding it impossible to see a GP when they need to. Among those, thousands are waiting more than a month or not getting an appointment at all, meaning there could inevitably be conditions going undiagnosed until it is too late.

New figures from the NHS have revealed more people are waiting a month for a GP appointment than at any time since records began in 2017. 4,124 people in Crawley faced a wait of 28 days or more to see a GP in October alone. A further 9,914 people had to wait more than two weeks.

Nationwide, the number of GPs has fallen to a record low. Since 2013, 4,600 GPs have been cut.

Labour plans to abolish the non-dom tax status, which allows some wealthy people who live in Britain to pay their taxes overseas, to pay for training a new generation of NHS staff.

That is simply the right thing to do, patients need doctors’ appointments more than the wealthiest need a tax break. Patients should be able to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose, when they need to. Labour will put patients first and get them seen on time again.

Labour’s plan would double the number of medical school places, training 15,000 new doctors a year, train 10,000 additional nurses and midwives every year, double the number of district nurses qualifying – and train 5,000 new health visitors

Labour’s plan will see patients guaranteed a face-to-face appointment with a GP if they want one. Currently just 22% of patients are given a choice in the type of appointment they have. One in seven people couldn’t get an appointment at all last year.

12 years of Conservative failure to train the staff our NHS needs has left it with thousands fewer GPs, and patients are paying the price. Meanwhile the Tories are protecting the non-dom tax status. We need doctors and nurses, not non-doms.  We need a Labour Government to make that happen.

Cllr Michael Jones

Leader, Crawley Borough Council