Simon Danczuk is today asking residents of Rochdale to visit the Labour Party’s newly launched website voteNHS.com which outlines Labour’s health campaign.

Labour’s “Target Cancer” campaign aims to save up to 10,000 lives by backing a pledge to create a new NHS guarantee of cancer diagnosis within one week of GP referral, allowing patients to be tested and told their results in just seven days.

Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health, and Simon Danczuk, Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, have challenged the Conservatives to reverse their policy of scrapping all NHS targets and patient guarantees, and to match Labour’s one-week cancer diagnosis guarantee.

Simon Danczuk said: “I support giving patients guarantees not gambles. People in Rochdale face a big choice on the NHS at the General Election. Between our NHS going forward with Labour, with guarantees for patients backed up by law. Or our NHS going backwards with Tory gambles that could leave patients with fewer rights and worse treatment.”

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Health Secretary said: “Some things are too important to be left to chance, and cancer is one of them. It's no exaggeration to say that with this disease, every day counts and cancer diagnosis should not be left to a local lottery. That’s why I am proud to say that with Labour, every NHS patient will have guaranteed access to diagnostic tests for cancer and crucially, their results, within just one week of seeing their doctor. If we do this, we know up to 10,000 lives a year could be saved".

Mr Burnham continued: “I am challenging Andrew Lansley and the Tories to drop their dogmatic opposition to our two-week cancer pledge, and admit that the quicker we can diagnose cancer, and ensure the same cancer guarantees for all NHS patients, the quicker we can treat it and the more lives we can save. And today I’m calling on everyone who agrees with me on this to sign up to my Target Cancer campaign at voteNHS.com.”

Notes:

1. To visit voteNHS.com click here
2. Gordon Brown announced at Labour Party Conference in 2009 that Labour would create a new right for patients to have diagnostic tests carried out, completed and with results within one week of seeing their GP.
3. The Conservatives say they will scrap all process targets in the NHS – including the existing guarantees that you will see a cancer specialist within two weeks of GP referral, that you will wait no more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment, and that you will wait no more than four hours in A&E before being admitted or discharged.