Every part of England has different healthcare needs. The demographics of each region can vary significantly, both in ethnicity and age. Any doctor will tell you that different social groups need different types of healthcare provision. Experience tells us that there is no ‘one size fits all’ system that will work for a country as diverse as England. Being a GP locum who works in both affluent and socially-deprived areas, I know too well that local clinical priorities need to reflect these differences. And this is the rub for the old Labour party. For those Socialists who aspire to deliver an ideologically-driven, uniform healthcare service are missing a key point: that it does not allow for human behaviour. With increasing local control over healthcare services becoming the political mantra, there will come regional differences in the provision of care. Local people will want local health services to suit them, not a set of centrally-imposed, national guidelines. In semi-rural communities, such as those served by the new Hexham hospital (pictured above), an older population will want a greater emphasis placed upon rehabilitation and elderly medicine. In contrast, an urban centre such as Slough, where I often work, would demand a proportionately greater spend on drug and alcohol addiction and those conditions more associated with the relatively large ethnic minority populations. So, yes there will be differences in healthcare provision throughout England. Detractors will call it a ‘postcode lottery’. Supporters, such as myself, will argue that until local people take ownership of their own individual health and play an active role in determining the health services offered locally, the health of the nation as a whole will not improve. For I believe that taking responsibility on every level is the key to good health. I already accept that if I am selected as a Parliamentary candidate, one of my many responsibilities would be to campaign hard to deliver and protect those healthcare services most needed by the community I represented. My impression is that it will not be long before we are all referring to our LHS (Local Health Service) not the NHS.