Providing health care for all according to their need, irrespective of their ability to pay, she is the Labour Party's proudest creation in government.

After many years of disease caused by underinvestment, she now has a new lease of life.

In their 'Patient's Charter' of 1994 the Government of the day promised that all operations would be carried out within 18 months of referral.

It is not surprising that people were dying before they got the treatment they needed.

Today the target is not 18 months but 18 weeks and it is being achieved. This has been brought about by public investment – in more doctors, more nurses, higher hygiene standards, new and refurbished hospitals.

A recent survey shows that 83% of patients are today 'satisfied' or more than satisfied with the treatment they receive from the NHS. Whilst this shows that the system is not perfect, it is the highest approval rating the NHS has ever had.

We can still aspire to do better. Longer opening hours, treatment on demand, greater levels of preventative medicine, more personalised services delivered ever closer to home… these are all achievable.

Even here within High Peak, residents of richer areas have a longer life expectancy than those who live in poorer areas. In poorer areas there is a greater tendency to smoke, a lower tendency to breast feed.

Many other indicators of good and poor health show the same trends. We are tackling these inequalities but too slowly.

This is the challenge to the NHS in the 21st century.

We will give our health service the investment it needs and we will trust it to deliver.

It worked in 1948 and it will work in 2008 too.