Royal Colleges call on Tories to prioritise health

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has joined five other Royal Colleges and the Academy of Royal Colleges in calling for health and social care to be top priorities during the Conservative Party leadership election.

With Rishi Sunak MP and Liz Truss MP both confirmed as the last two candidates to go forward to the Conservative Party membership in the country, the joint statement urges the next Prime Minister to commit to the following areas for reform:

• Commit to planning and providing a health and care workforce that meets the needs of the population, particularly by increasing medical school places and clinical training places.
• Commit to reducing health inequality by tackling the causes of ill health so that in the long run we reduce pressure on the NHS by reducing preventable illness.
• Commit to fixing social care so that we end the cycle of working age adults and old age adults being admitted to hospital, or delayed in leaving hospital, because of insufficient social care packages to help them live independently.

Dr Adrian James, RCPsych President said:

“It is vitally important that the leadership candidates to be our next Prime Minister address these important issues during the campaign and that whoever enters 10 Downing Street recognises the country needs a plan of action.

“By working together with other Royal Colleges and the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, we shall be using the summer period to engage with the leadership teams of the last two candidates, Conservative MPs and various interest groups within the Conservative Party to ensure the issues highlighted in the joint statement are not ignored.”

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