NHS should act as ‘engine of local economic growth', Streeting says
The NHS has an 'important role to play' when it comes to getting patients off waiting lists and back to work, and should also act 'as an engine of local economic growth', according to the Health Secretary.
It comes as Wes Streeting announced a new pilot scheme which will aim to recruit an extra 1,000 NHS staff from areas worst affected by unemployment.
Mr Streeting was in Blackpool on Wednesday to deliver a speech unveiling plans to divert more than £2 billion in NHS spending to working class communities.
He also announced changes to the NHS App, with new features that will aim to give patients access to more information and tackle what he described as 'one of the starkest health inequalities'.
Speaking of the new programme, Mr Streeting told the PA news agency: 'The pilot we've announced will trial a programme benefiting 1,000 people, including disabled people, people with conditions like autism, carers and people over the age of 50, who, for reasons I cannot understand, are often written off when it comes to being able to go back to work or to get a different job.
'This is the NHS walking the talk. We know that what makes for good health isn't just good treatment, but is a society which creates good health, and that involves employers.
'So this is me and the NHS putting our money where our mouth is, to show that we're going to be good employers providing great opportunities as well as great healthcare.'
The pilot will also offer support with job applications and work placements.
It comes amid sweeping welfare reforms by the Labour Government which have split the party.
In his speech, Mr Streeting said the 'health service should also act as an engine of local economic growth, giving opportunities in training and work to local people'.
He told PA: 'The NHS got really important role to play, not just as a provider of public services, but as a provider of great job opportunities.
'I've seen first hand what can happen when the NHS acts as a good local employer and provides opportunities, particularly for people who can often get overlooked and not recognised for their talents.'
Mr Streeting also announced that, under reforms included in the Government's upcoming 10-year plan, around £2.2 billion previously set aside to plug financial holes will now be spent on resources in deprived areas.
This year, deficit support funding will not go to systems that fail to meet their agreed financial plans and is being phased out entirely from 2026/27, with NHS England chief executive Jim Mackey behind the drive.
Struggling NHS trusts will now be required to set out activity and costs in a transparent way.
The Government also plans to review GP funding and the GP contract so working-class areas receive their 'fair share' of resources.
Mr Streeting told the PA his own experiences of poverty as a child influenced the announcement.
'I'm in politics because I want to make sure that more people from working class backgrounds like mine have the same sorts of choices and chances in life as those from the wealthiest backgrounds,' he said.
'I think the state has a really powerful role to play in making sure that people have those opportunities and security in life.
'But I'm also aware from some of my family's experiences about where the state sometimes lets people down and needs to change and genuinely listen to people and do things with people, rather than to them.
'I don't resent sharp elbowed, middle-class professionals exercising their voice – and I'm obviously one of them now – but we've got to make sure that working class people, people from underprivileged backgrounds, have the same voice, the same choice, the same power and control over their lives as everyone else.'
During his speech, Mr Streeting described unequal access to information and choice as 'one of the starkest health inequalities'.
To address this, he announced that new features will be introduced on the NHS App as part of the 10 year plan, adding that technology can 'empower patients with choice and control'.
A tool known as My Companion will use artificial intelligence to give patients direct access to information.
'It will provide all patients with information about their health condition, if they have one, or their procedure, if they need one,' Mr Streeting added.
'It will get patients answers to questions they forgot to ask or felt too embarrassed to ask in a place that makes appointment.
'So the next time you're at appointment and you're told something doesn't sound right, you'll have at your fingertips the information you need to speak up confidently with the other expert in the room.'
Mr Streeting said another feature, known as My Choices, will 'show patients everything from their nearest pharmacy and its opening hours to the best hospital for heart surgery across the country, with patients able to choose based on their preference'.
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