THE North West of England has become the latest region to host the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS, as part of a nationwide series of public debates about how to fix the health service.
More than 100 people from the North West came to Preston last Saturday, 7 December 2024 to share their views on the NHS in the region, where waiting lists surpass more than a million, with over 40,000 of those waits being more than a year.
Attendees heard from NHS England’s Chief Nursing Officer, Duncan Burton, who outlined his commitment to transforming the NHS.
He also spoke directly to locals on their opinions on how best to reform the NHS and how the government’s 10 Year Health Plan can help tackle disparities in the wider region and get the NHS back on its feet.
This week the Government set out its Plan for Change to drive a decade of national renewal, which will tackle waiting lists and help to build an NHS fit for the future.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:- “The NHS is going through the worst crisis in its history, and with over 1 million people stuck on waiting lists in the North West, people in this region are feeling the impact. We have a once in a generation opportunity to fix our health service, but we can only succeed by listening to the people who know it best. Whether you use the NHS or work in it, you see 1st-hand what’s great, but also what isn’t working. I urge everyone to go to change.nhs.uk today and help us build a health service fit for the future.”
Chief Nursing Officer for England, Duncan Burton, said:- “We are determined to ensure that as many of our staff, patients and the public can share their best ideas for the NHS so that we can spread these innovations across the country. And today’s 10 Year Health Plan event in Preston has been a fantastic opportunity for us to hear from those people who have experienced both the good and bad of the NHS. I have been incredibly impressed by the achievements of the staff here in Lancashire and South Cumbria who are already doing great work to shift hospital care into the community, and I’m sure with the public’s support we can build on this momentum and create an NHS fit for the future.”
Last month, the government issued a rallying cry to the nation – including all 1.5 million NHS staff, patients, experts, and the wider public – to visit the online platform change.nhs.uk to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS and to help shape the plan.
Change.nhs.uk has already received almost 1.2 million separate visits, with over 9,000 ideas now live on the site. It will be live until spring 2025 and is available via the NHS App.
Thousands of ideas to fix the health service have been submitted, with suggestions including:-
- Establishing an NHS research health company that can be used to get insights on early prevention
- Digital records, so records from all hospitals are available to view at all GP surgeries
- Pop-up / mobile clinics to meet surge demand for services in areas of need
- Stop giving out paper leaflets and sending letters, and limit this to those who do not have access to IT to reduce waste
All submitted ideas will be carefully considered as part of the engagement process so that we can better understand the priorities of the public, patients and people working in health and care.
People in the North West of England are being affected by a range of health issues. The latest data shows there were:-
- A waiting list of more than 1 million in the North West commissioning region, with over 40,000 of those waits being more than a year.
- A waiting list of over 241,000 at the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, with over 7,000 of those being more than a year.
- A waiting list of more than 57,000 at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with over 1,000 of those being more than a year.
At the end of September 2024, data shows:-
- Nearly 60,000 patients waited more than 4 weeks for a GP appointment in the North West of England region.
- Over 15,000 patients waited more than 4 weeks for a GP appointment in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
The public engagement exercise will help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which will be published in spring 2025 and will be underlined by 3 big shifts in healthcare:-
- hospital to community
- analogue to digital
- sickness to prevention
As part of the 1st shift from ‘hospital to community’, the government wants to deliver plans for new neighbourhood health centres, which will be closer to homes and communities. Patients will be able to see family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, health visitors or mental health specialists, all under the same roof.
In transforming the NHS from analogue to digital, the government will create a more modern NHS by bringing together a single patient record, summarising patient health information, test results and letters in 1 place, through the NHS App.
By moving from sickness to prevention, the government wants to shorten the amount of time people spend in ill health and prevent illnesses before they happen.
