ROY WOODS - Liberal Democrats will deliver a people-centred NHS, fit for the 21st century.

12.00.00am GMT Sat 21st Feb 2009

The NHS represents values which unite us as a nation and we can be proud of what it achieves and of the skill and dedication of those who work in it.

Liberal Democrats know how important the NHS is and are committed to ensure that it provides world class care, value for money and the best possible service long into the future.

A lot of money has been invested in health in recent years but too much of that has been wasted on bureaucracy rather than investing in frontline services. Doctors and nurses are forced to spend too much time trying to meet government targets rather than caring for patients. And government ministers make decisions about local services from the comfort of their offices rather than facing the people they affect.

Liberal Democrats believe that patients must come first and that services would improve if local people had a greater say in how the NHS is run. We will scrap central targets and guarantee that you get your treatment on time. We will give you the power to stop any proposed hospital closures in Crewe and Nantwich through elected local health boards. And we will put doctors and nurses back in charge of their hospitals and wards.

Fairness is central to all our election policies and the entitlement to top quality healthcare must be ensured. Personal care services, particularly for the elderly, must be improved and be based on need and not on the ability to pay.

In particular, waiting times for mental health services are currently unacceptably long and Liberal Democrats are committed to ensuring that these services are resourced, organised and prioritised to make sure that waiting time for treatment is never longer than three months.

Liberal Democrats will deliver a people-centred NHS, fit for the 21st century.