We were delighted to welcome the Leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting MP who visited Alder Hey to discuss the launch of the Labour Party’s ‘Child Health Action Plan’ and to hear our own assessment of the challenges facing today’s children and young people and what we are doing at Alder Hey to tackle them.
Keir Starmer thanked Alder Hey staff for the work that they do, before taking part in an interactive Q&A session. During the session, the Labour Leader talked about the current state of mental health services, in particular the waiting lists for children and young people.
He also talked about the future of children and young people’s health and the need for early intervention to help reduce the stress on NHS resources. He stated that this, along with the need to increase the NHS workforce, were key parts of his strategy.
Sir Keir then visited Ward 1C to meet some of our families there and the staff who care for them.
“I have been humbled by what the staff are doing here. I want take their ideas and craft them into something that we can use. Therefore, Alder Hey will have its fingerprints on what I hope the next Labour government can achieve.”
Sir Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the Labour Party
Wes Streeting also paid a visit to our Innovation Hub, where he met key members of staff who have been helping to deliver our most innovative programmes in recent years. These include our online mental health referral hub, and our Asthma Mapping project, which aims to identify key problem areas and causes of childhood respiratory issues.
“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss approaches to child health with the Labour Party, and to
Louise Shepherd CBE, Chief Executive of Alder Hey
share with them details of some of the important work we’re doing at Alder Hey to tackle the
growing health challenges faced by children, young people and their families.”