With it seeming clear that Labour will be forming the next UK government, we thought it would be interesting to see what we might expect from them in respect of a preventive care agenda. So we looked at the Labour Manifesto and a recent briefing by Wes Streeting to medical journalists (as reported by the Independent here).
There are enough hooks in what Labour are saying to encourage we advocates of preventive care. The challenge post-election will be for leaders to create enough thinking space and modest funding which, coupled with local energy, can allow existing solutions and assets to be identified, built upon and scaled up. We know that otherwise outcomes will suffer and the NHS will become ever less sustainable during the coming Parliament and beyond.
Unsurprisingly, healthcare delivery is the second of five Labour Missions: [Labour will] “Cut NHS Waiting Times: with 40,000 more appointments each week, during evenings and weekends; double the number of cancer scanners; a new Dentistry Rescue Plan; 8,500 additional mental health staff; and return of the family doctor.”
They also commit to “Build an NHS fit for the future” which provides more detail of their agenda, much of which focuses on care out-of-hospital and support for independent living which we welcome:
- “Investment alone won’t be enough to tackle the problems facing the NHS; it must go hand-in-hand with fundamental reform.
- “We must change the NHS so that it becomes not just a sickness service, but able to prevent ill heath in the first place. It must also reflect the change in the nature of disease, with a greater focus on the management of chronic, long-term conditions. And we will deliver a renewed drive to tackle the biggest killers; cutting the lives lost to cancer, cardiovascular disease and suicide, while ensuring people live well for longer.
- “We will embed a greater focus on prevention throughout the entire healthcare system and supporting services. As we knew in 1945, much avoidable ill health can be prevented.
- “Healthcare closer to home. The NHS needs to move to a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier. To achieve this, we must over time shift resources to primary care and community services.
- “Neighbourhood Health Centres [will bring] together existing services such as family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, palliative care, and mental health specialists under one roof.
- “Labour will undertake a programme of reform to create a National Care Service, underpinned by national standards, delivering consistency of care across the country. Services will be locally delivered, with a principle of ‘home first’ that supports people to live independently for as long as possible.
- “Reducing health inequalities. The UK has stark health inequalities. It cannot be right that life expectancy varies so widely across and within communities. As part of our health mission, Labour will tackle the social determinants of health, halving the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions in England. Never again will women’s health be neglected. Labour will prioritise women’s health as we reform the NHS.
While Wes Streeting is undoubtedly supportive of the Manifesto commitments, his briefing for medical journalists recently focused particularly on fixing elective care waiting list, ED performance and freeing up hospital beds through more investment in social care. He expects to increase spending in primary care and is realistic in expecting NHS reform to be a longer-term challenge requiring collaboration across the political divide.