Labour has launched a 10 Year Health Plan that will turn the NHS on its head, delivering one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history.
Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North has warmly welcomed the plan, describing it as a ‘landmark moment as Labour gets our NHS back on its feet and makes it fit for the future’.
The plan will deliver three big shifts in how the NHS works, including for residents in Portsmouth: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. Built around these three principles, the reforms within the plan will deliver the government’s promise to stop rising waiting lists, deliver more convenient care, and tackle inequalities across the country.
The launch of a Neighbourhood Health Service will see pioneering teams, some based entirely under one roof, set up in local communities across the country, to dramatically improve access to the NHS. As part of the Government’s aim to shift care out of hospitals and into the community, they will free up overstrained hospitals from perpetual firefighting so they can focus on delivering only the best, most cutting-edge, and personalised care.
The government inherited an analogue NHS, reliant on paper and fax machines and out of step with modern technology. The government’s plan will bring it into the digital age, making sure staff benefit from the advantages and efficiencies available from new technology.
Through Labour’s Plan for Change, the government is shifting the focus from sickness to prevention and creating a more active state – one that works with partners to make the healthy choice the easy choice – and a transition of the NHS from a sickness service to a prevention service.
It sets out how the Labour Government will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines, and innovation, in order to deliver better care for all patients – no matter where they live or how much they earn – and better value for taxpayers.
And it will tackle some of the enduring health inequalities plaguing our country, making sure that those in working class communities are no longer served last. In recent months, the NHS has driven trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) hard to cut out wasteful spending and tackle projected deficits. By driving out the culture of deficits, around £2.2 billion previously set aside for deficit support will be freed up, so it can be reinvested in critical resources like staff, medicines, new technology and equipment where they are most needed. This will support millions of people in parts of England that have historically been left behind, such as in rural communities, coastal towns and working-class communities.
Labour is already delivering action to cut waiting lists and fix the foundations of the NHS. Nationally, waiting lists are at their lowest level in two years, including the first drop in April for 17 years, and an extra 4.2million appointments have been delivered since July – over double the government’s target.
Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North said: “After joining the biggest national conversation about the NHS in its history, I know that residents in Portsmouth will be delighted to see Labour’s Ten Year Health Plan that will deliver one of the most seismic shifts in care in the history of the health service.
“Thanks to the steps this Government is taking to deliver three big shifts in how the NHS works – from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, from sickness to prevention – we will be the generation that gets the NHS back on its feet and makes it fit for the future.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Our 10 Year Health Plan will transform the NHS, delivering one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history.
“By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.
“This Government’s Plan for Change is creating an NHS truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home.”
