It is the start of moves to create multi-purpose health hubs in neighbourhoods with GPs, nurses, clinics, dentists and pharmacists in one place.
Summerfield, left, and Stockland Green health centres
Two Birmingham health centres in the heart of deprived parts of the city are to be upgraded to ‘one stop health hubs’ as part of a switch to bring more patient care closer to homes.
Stockland Green Primary Care Centre and Summerfield Primary Care Centre in Edgbaston are to be revamped as two of 250 ‘neighbourhood health centres’ across the country.
The centres will be part of a rollout of measures designed to cut waiting lists across the NHS. Other measures include£300m of funding in NHS technology to support staff and boost their productivity.
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The package of measures will be included in the Autumn Budget on Wednesday.
The new ventures will turn the health centres into ‘one stop shops’ bringing together GPs, pharmacies, nurses and dentists under one roof. The new Neighbourhood Health Service will also improve access to GPs, helping to prevent complications and avoid the frustration of being passed around the system.
Birmingham Edgbaston Labour MP Preet Gill has welcomed the investment and said it will ‘transform Summerfield primary care centre and help deliver the neighbourhood NHS this Labour government promised.”
The aim is that more space will also be freed up in outpatient clinics in hospitals. Patients will get treatment minutes from home instead of travelling miles to acute hospitals.
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Neighbourhood health services will initially focus on improving access to general practice and supporting people with complex needs and long-term conditions like diabetes and heart failure in the areas of the highest deprivation. As the programme grows, it will expand to support other patients and priorities.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves added: “At the Budget I’ll set out how we’ll deliver on the country’s priorities to cut NHS waiting times, cut debt and cut the cost of living. We’re driving down waiting lists by bringing healthcare to patients’ doorsteps and turbocharging NHS productivity with cutting-edge technology.”
Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “Neighbourhood Health Centres fundamentally reimagine how the NHS works – bringing care closer to home and making sure the NHS is organised around patients’ needs, not the other way round.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses outside 11 Downing Street, London, with her ministerial red box.(Image: PA)
Ruth Rankine, director of primary care the NHS Confederation said: “The creation of a Neighbourhood Health Service has the potential to empower the NHS to deliver even more patient-first, joined-up care.
“Working in partnership with local authorities, the VCSE sector and other partners is key to maximising the impact of these services, so it is welcome that the government is committed to ensuring local leaders have the flexibility to shape them to meet the specific needs of their communities. Bringing teams together under one roof can significantly improve services for the public and patients and provide more cohesive relationships between health and care professionals.
“Innovative use of existing estate across the whole of the NHS as well as local authorities, with the potential for new private sector investment, will support the delivery of neighbourhood services and ensure patients can access them more easily closer to home.”
The new-look venues will be delivered through a combination of Public-Private Partnerships and public investment. More than 100 of the centres, including Summerfield and Stockland Green, will be open by 2030.