NHS Confederation responds to Health Secretary's speech at ConfedExpo
Responding to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s speech at NHS ConfedExpo, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:
“The Secretary of State is right that the divides between acute, primary, and community are already being broken down, supported by the work of integrated care boards. Redesigning services is essential to the future of the NHS and many providers are already breaking down their traditional silos to offer patients truly personalised and integrated care.
“The Health Secretary is absolutely right to highlight how difficult the road ahead will be for the NHS. There is an awful lot it has to achieve including improving performance, redesigning services, balancing the books, and regaining public satisfaction. Our members have told us that they are also worried about public satisfaction continuing to fall, with 53 per cent of leaders saying they are not confident satisfaction will improve over the next three years.
“The drop in waiting lists today is also very welcome, and testament to the hard work and dedication of NHS leaders and their teams. The extra funding announced at the spending review is very welcome and as Mr Streeting says, it is both a lot of money and not enough. Many of our members have warned they will not hit the interim target, with only one-in-two confident they will achieve the 65 per cent elective care interim target by March 2026.
“That is why redesigning services is so essential – the combination of investment and reform – so that we can achieve the government’s three ambitions. Moving care closer to home and reducing waiting lists will also be key to improving public satisfaction – an issue that NHS England’s chief executive Sir Jim Mackey also highlighted.
“Our members will welcome Mr Streeting confirming he will support them to make the difficult decisions needed to redesign services. This is something we have been calling for and will be a weight off the minds of many system and provider leaders. We also welcome his announcement that the upcoming ten-year plan will put an end to central control and place more power into the hands of local leaders to lead and innovate to benefit their populations.
“Yesterday we highlighted the need for more capital funding, so it is heartening to hear the Secretary of State saying he is open to allowing the NHS to work with the private sector to raise vital investment for new facilities.”
