Speaking at the think tank Policy Exchange the Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the new Conservative government will seize what is a “once in a generation opportunity” to invest in the NHS a build a healthcare system that is fit for the future. This involves delivering on the three priorities he has already set out - Prevention, People and Technology - and adding a fourth, Infrastructure.
“When we look back in 2030 to this moment – this once in a generation opportunity – where a political commitment and the financial resources are in perfect alignment with the overwhelming public mandate, I want us to be able to say: ‘Yes. We got it right.’ We made the right decisions, took the necessary steps to build a stronger and more sustainable health and social care system,” Matt Hancock said.
He described the approach to upgrading hospital infrastructure in the 21st century as “too piecemeal and unstrategic” and pledges that the Health Infrastructure Plan announced a few weeks ago will see the NHS emerge at the end of the 2020s “physically transformed.”
In addition to the promised new hospitals, this means addressing the short-term demands, fixing the backlog of maintenance and integrating care, both between primary and secondary, community and mental health, and the wider life sciences and research agenda.
“We’re going to build a better NHS brick by brick: modern well-designed wards, with the right facilities to speed up recovery, ensure patients receive the right treatment, cut waiting times, improve patient safety, and make life easier for staff.
“But it’s not just about the bricks and mortar. It’s about integrating care better. It’s going to be the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.
“And we’re going to radically simplify the approvals process to make the whole approach for the use of capital investment more strategic across integrated care systems – not piecemeal, Trust by Trust.”
Matt Hancock also confirmed more financial support for nurses, the need to focus on the prevention of ill health, create the right culture to recruit and retain good people and continuing to push the digital agenda.
