North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the announcement of a Long Term Plan for the NHS which builds on record levels of funding.
The aim of the plan is to improve quality of patient care and health outcomes, as well as set out how the extra £20.5 billion a year budget settlement for the NHS will be spent. The plan will ensure that the NHS is always there for families, from continuing to improve maternity safety to increasing health and social care integration to support older people.
Developed in partnership with frontline health and care staff, patients and their families, the plan will improve outcomes for major diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and dementia.
Prevention rather than cure is at the heart of the plan, with more emphasis on supporting people stay healthy and receive treatment quicker. To achieve this, primary and community care will see the biggest increase in funding, with spending on these services at least £4.5 billion higher in five years time.
Another flagship ambition is to improve cancer survival rates through rapid diagnostics, new screening programmes and genomic testing. It is hoped that this focus will see 55,000 more people survive cancer each year in ten years time.
Plans for better access to mental health services are also set out; designed to give more support to the 370,000 adults and 345,000 children with severe mental health conditions. This follows the Chancellor's Budget announcement of an extra £2 billion a year to tackle mental health problems; building on the record £11.7 billion we are now investing in mental health.
The Plan also includes measures to:
- improve out-of-hospital care, supporting primary medical and community health services
- ensure all children get the best start in life by continuing to improve maternity safety including halving the number of stillbirths, maternal and neonatal deaths and serious brain injury by 2025
- support older people through more personalised care and stronger community and primary care services
- make digital health services a mainstream part of the NHS, so that in 5 years, patients in England will be able to access a digital GP offer
The plan builds on the record investment currently being received by the NHS, including a 70th birthday announcement of £394 million extra a week by 2023-24.
Swindon specifically has felt the benefits of extra NHS investment, with recent investment including:
- £29.573 million of new Government funding to deliver a modern Integrated A&E, which will provide a reconfigured and rightsized Emergency Department as well as a transitional care facility.
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£769,255 to help alleviate winter pressures on the NHS and adult social care by helping get patients home quicker and freeing up hospital beds
- £6.7 million for more ambulances across Swindon and the South West
- £13 million capital funding for the Brighter Futures Radiotherapy Centre
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “This is a bold plan which aims to ensure that the record investment in the NHS is spent in the most effective way possible. Investing in primary and community care will mean people can receive treatment quicker and improve outcomes for patients, and by investing in the latest technologies it will be possible to make the NHS more efficient and improve the experience for service users.”
