GP practice teams are being asked to share their views and ideas for ‘fixing the NHS’ and help shape the Government’s reform strategy, which includes creating neighbourhood health centres and widening out access to patient records.
Earlier this week, the Government launched an ‘engagement exercise’ with the public and NHS staff so they can have input into its 10 Year Health Plan, which will be published next spring.
As prime minister Keir Starmer had announced in September, the plan will consist of three major reforms.
The first is moving more care from hospitals to the community, by creating new neighbourhood health centres where patients can see GPs, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, health visitors, or mental health specialists under one roof.
The second change is switching the NHS from analogue to digital. This will include bringing in new laws to make NHS patient health records available across all health service trusts, GP surgeries and ambulance services in England as well as ensuring systems can share data more easily.
It will also see the creation of a single patient record, accessible through the NHS App, that summarises patient health information, test results, and letters.
Third is a focus on prevention of sickness.
Views and experiences can be shared on an online platform Change.NHS.uk, which will be live until the start of next year, and available via the NHS App.
The Government said the move was the ‘biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS since its birth’.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Whether you use the NHS or work in it, you see first-hand what’s great, but also what isn’t working. We need your ideas to help turn the NHS around.’
Writing for our sister publication Pulse, NHS England primary care director Dr Amanda Doyle said despite the challenges general practice is facing there is a ‘real sense of hope’ as this new Government is committed to shifting more NHS resources into primary care.
‘This direction gives general practice lots of opportunities to shape a better, more sustainable future,’ she said.
She urged GPs and their teams to get involved by sharing their opinions and ideas, since they ‘know what matters most to … patients’.
‘We know many solutions to our issues already exist across the health service, and we see examples every day of local teams working together to better join up care for their patients,’ Dr Doyle also said.
‘We need to go further if we are to offer a truly neighbourhood health service, but these examples show our staff are passionate about making a difference, and why we must listen and put you at the forefront of reforming and improving how the NHS works.’
