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Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Times
Starmer's NHS plan promises more GPs and local health hubs
Thousands more GPs and fewer hospital consultants will be trained in an effort to shift healthcare closer to home, the government is set to announce on Thursday. Two hundred new 'neighbourhood health centres' will offer scans, outpatient appointments, mental health therapy and a host of services without the need to go to hospital, under proposals to be outlined in the government's ten-year plan for the NHS. Sir Keir Starmer said the plan would 'fundamentally rewire' the health service, making hospitals a last resort instead of the 'default' for care. He has previously said the NHS must 'reform or die'. He pledged to give 'everyone access to GPs, nurses, and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood — rebalancing our health system so that it fits around patients' lives, not the other way round'. Such goals have been shared by successive governments, however, and health leaders said a lack of detail on how the changes would happen prompted 'doubt on whether the plan will stick' in the long term. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, insisted that the proposals would slash waiting lists for patients and 'turn the NHS on its head'. He aims to create a 'neighbourhood health service' that would provide more care locally and help frail patients stay out of hospital. The plan is a vital moment for Starmer, who has tethered his political fortunes to the NHS with a £30 billion budget boost. He is off track on a promise to treat 92 per cent of routine patients within 18 weeks but promised to deliver on voters' top political priority with a plan for radically better and more efficient care. Among policies included in the plan: • An improved NHS app is to become the 'front door' to the NHS, offering more appointments, test results and advice.• Getting patients back to work will become a core aim of care, with back-to-work targets for NHS groups.• An AI-based 'digital warning system' will issue safety alerts in hospitals.• An expansion of patient choice and more hospital league tables are intended to drive up standards.• British doctors will be given priority for NHS jobs. However, tougher public health restrictions were largely dropped. Under the current NHS workforce plan, hospital consultant numbers are due to increase much faster than family doctors. Streeting will promise to train 'thousands' more GPs by skewing training places more towards family doctors. An updated plan later this year will set out more 'realistic' numbers for hospital doctors to allow for more GPs. • NHS patients face more delays as 'minimum waits' imposed The proposed new health centres would be open six days a week for 12 hours a day, and house teams able to diagnose patients and deliver post-operative care and rehabilitative services. Also on offer would be debt advice, employment support, smoking cessation and weight management. With a health centre for every 250,000 people, the plan aims to end the 'hospital by default' status of the health service, and instead transition to a system where going to hospital is the last resort. This would mean that, initially, care should be digital-first, through the NHS app. Failing that, it should be within a patient's home, then within a neighbourhood care hub and only in a hospital when deemed necessary. Speaking before the launch of the plan, Starmer said Labour had 'inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking-plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future. 'That ends now. Because it's reform or die. Our ten-year health plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people's doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.' Neighbourhood health centres would be run by GPs in some areas, while in others local trusts or mutuals would be in charge. Ministers are promising an overhaul of internal NHS payments so that services are paid for better outcomes and incentivised to offer cheaper care that keeps people out of hospital. • Starmer promised to fix the NHS. A year on, has he succeeded? Areas that are more deprived and have lower life expectancies will be prioritised for the changes, and the cost of the centres will vary according to their needs. However, the government is facing questions about how the centres will be paid for as ministers explore private financing deals, as well as whether local bosses will embrace fundamental reform when they are under pressure to balance the books and cut waiting lists. Streeting promised '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 devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.' Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said many NHS services were already working within communities, adding: 'Simply saying that the approach will be rolled out, without full details on how to bring it about, casts doubt on whether it will stick.'
Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS lays off doctors and nurses in ‘unthinkable' cuts to balance books
NHS trusts are laying off doctors and nurses despite a £22 billion funding boost. Health leaders warned that they were having to 'balance the books' as a significant amount of the extra money was spent on pay rises for junior doctors. The NHS was given an extra £11 billion for two years, but much of it has been swallowed up by the 22 per cent salary increase for junior doctors, now known as resident doctors. One NHS trust revealed it had to cut 600 clinical roles along with a further 1,000 office jobs to reduce costs. It also told NHS England it would no longer provide some specialised services if it did not receive extra funding. Another trust is cutting palliative care beds in the community, restricting stop smoking services and reducing hospital referrals, while a third trust is no longer accepting referrals for adults with ADHD. Other hospital leaders said they were being forced to restructure rather than cut patient services, such as by reducing the number of maternity units they ran across different sites. Another said they were 'redesigning posts' to get the most value out of their staff, such as nurses who were spending all their time doing administrative tasks behind a desk rather than seeing patients because of regulator feedback.
