Streeting lays out plans for improving NHS and social care
In his first speech to the Labour Party Conference as secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting today pledged to start rolling out reforms to fix the NHS which he described as “broken but not beaten”.
Referring to the “grim” results of the independent investigation of the NHS in England carried out by Lord Ara Darzi and published earlier this month, Mr Streeting said that the fundamental promise of the NHS that it will be there for us when we need it had been broken by a decade of underinvestment.
“It requires investment in the nursing workforce who currently do not feel valued”
Nicola Ranger
Mr Streeting told the conference that the government would begin rolling out reforms to end the current two-tier system of healthcare that means wealthy people can access good quality and fast care by paying for private services, while working people cannot.
He pledged to replace the two-tier system with an NHS that would provide “world-class care for the many, not just the few”.
Mr Streeting said that the reforms to the NHS would result in three important shifts – from analogue to digital, from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention.
He also said that the Labour government was committed to keeping the NHS free at the point of delivery.
“We will always defend our NHS as a public service free at the point of use so that whenever you fall ill you never have to worry about the bill,” he told the conference.
Highlighted in the health secretary’s speech were plans to send “top clinicians” into hospitals to roll out reforms to treat more patients and cut waiting lists, starting with 20 hospitals in areas with the highest numbers of people off-work because of sickness.
“We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work,” Mr Streeting said.
More on the Darzi review
In his speech, Mr Streeting also made a commitment to improve pay and working conditions for people working in social care and repeated plans to create a National Care Service.
“We can’t fix the crisis in our NHS without fixing the crisis in social care. And we can’t fix social care without the people who work in it,” Mr Streeting said.
“I will deliver a new deal for care professionals, a fair pay agreement to improve pay and conditions and give staff the status and respect they deserve – our first step towards building a National Care Service,” he said.
Mr Streeting also told the conference that his party’s upcoming 10-year plan for health would ensure the NHS is “fit for the future” with advances in genomics and data science used to support healthcare that is more predictive, more preventative and more personalised.
“If we get this right, we will get rid of two-tier healthcare in our country for good, so that preventive care, precision medicine, personalised treatment are no longer just for the few but are enjoyed by the many,” he said.
Nicola Ranger
Responding to the health secretary’s speech at the Labour Party Conference, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Those working in the NHS recognise the health secretary’s diagnosis and stand ready to help in delivering the change needed to improve care for all patients.
“It requires investment in the nursing workforce who currently do not feel valued – the government has an opportunity to show a fresh path at next month’s budget.”
She welcomed the fair pay agreement for social care workers.
“Wes Streeting is right to recognise the need to deliver a fair pay agreement for those working in social care which will help to attract and retain the skilled staff needed to care for some of the most vulnerable, and this needs to be matched with a long-term plan,” Professor Ranger said.
Chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor said that the health and social care secretary was “absolutely right” that there needed to be an honest diagnosis of the problems facing the NHS before they can be addressed.
“Healthcare leaders recognise and accept many of the issues raised in Lord Darzi’s recent report and look forward to working with the government to address them,” Mr Taylor said.
He also welcomed the commitment to a new pay deal for social care workers.
“It’s vital the government works with trust leaders to tackle the many challenges facing health and social care”
Julian Hartley
“Improving their pay and conditions is a good first step to boosting staff numbers and improving retention,” Mr Taylor said.
He added that plans to “bring the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS” to get people back to work would be beneficial, but that funding as well as reform would be required.
“While we look forward to understanding what this announcement will mean in practice, it is clear that NHS services won’t need help to simply learn from the best but they will need additional investment and the space to put this into practice too,” he said.
Chief executive of NHS Providers Sir Julian Hartley said that hard work by frontline NHS staff had led to “much-needed progress” on ambulance response times and waits for treatment.
But he added that to make a bigger dent in waiting lists and improve care for all patients, the health service needed more investment to tackle major workforce challenges, crumbling buildings and out-of-date equipment.
“The renewed focus on creating a digital NHS, focusing on prevention and public health, and ensuring patients are cared for closer to home is a step in the right direction,” Mr Hartley said.
“Leaders across the NHS also want to see urgent action to address the underlying factors driving ill health and economic inactivity, which are compounding pressures on overstretched health and care services,” he added.
“With Lord Darzi’s diagnosis of the health service now published and the 10-year plan for health on the horizon, it’s vital the government works with trust leaders to tackle the many challenges facing health and social care.”
