DEBBIE Abrahams MP, a member of Labour’s shadow health team, is due to speak at a public meeting in Stockton on Saturday afternoon.

Mrs Abrahams, who is parliamentary private secretary to Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, will talk about the challenges facing the NHS and what Labour will do if it is elected in May next year.

Ahead of the meeting Mrs Abrahams said: “The NHS is one of our greatest achievements but it’s struggling following David Cameron’s unnecessary £3bn top-down reorganisation and the forced tendering of contracts to the private sector.

“Before the last election he promised he wouldn’t cut the NHS and then set about doing just that. Only a Labour government can stop this privatisation by repealing his Health and Social Care Act.

“Also, many people struggle to see their GP and under this Coalition Government and one in four people are now waiting a week or more for an appointment. Only a Labour government will guarantee a GP appointment within 48 hours.”

The meeting is organised by the Socialist Health Association and will also include contributions from paediatrician Dr Nigel Speight, from Keep Our NHS Public, Easington's Labour MP Grahame Morris and Louise Baldock, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Stockton South.

The meeting is at Stockton Parish Church Hall in High Street, Stockton on Saturday, November 22 and begins at 2.30pm.