The prime minister has launched the long-awaited 10 Year Health Plan.
Under the new plans, millions of patients will be treated closer to home under new teams of health professionals. A Neighbourhood Health Service will see teams set up in local communities across the country, in a bid to improve access to the NHS.
As part of the Government's aim to shift care out of hospitals and into communities, the teams will free up hospitals from 'perpetual firefighting'.
The neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services on people's doorsteps, preventing them from travelling to hospitals.
The neighbourhood teams will include nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, palliative care staff, and paramedics. Community health workers and volunteers will also play a role. The teams will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.
"But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.
"That ends now. Because it’s reform or die. Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.
"That means giving everyone access to GPs, nurses, and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood - rebalancing our health system so that it fits around patients’ lives, not the other way round.
"This is not an overnight fix, but our Plan for Change is already turning the tide on years of decline with over four million extra appointments, 1,900 more GPs and waiting lists at their lowest level for two years.
"But there’s more to come. This government is giving patients easier, quicker and more convenient care, wherever they live."
The neighbourhood teams will be housed in new health centres which will eventually be open 12 hours a day, six days a week. They will bring traditionally hospital-based services like diagnostics, post-operative care, and rehab into the community. They will also offer services like debt advice, employment support and stop smoking or weight management.
The new service will operate on a new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digital-by-default, in a patient’s home where possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary.
Also under the 10 Year Health Plan, thousands more GPs will be trained, as the government aims to bring back the family doctor, end the 8am scramble and make it easier to see a GP when you need to.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Our 10 Year Health Plan will turn the NHS on its head, delivering one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history.
"By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.
"This Government’s Plan for Change is creating an NHS truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home."
Sir James Mackey, Chief Executive, NHS England said: "The Neighbourhood Health Service is a huge opportunity for us to transform how we deliver care over the next decade – starting right on people’s doorsteps.
"By bringing together a full range of clinicians as one team, we can deliver care that’s more accessible, convenient and better for patients, as well as reducing pressures on hospitals."
The plan also includes a promise to tackle the current lottery of access to dentists, with dental care professionals working as part of the neighbourhood teams. Under the plan, it will be a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, intended to be 3 years.
Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "This is a vital step towards a more preventative, community-based NHS. Bringing care closer to people’s homes through blended neighbourhood health teams recognises the complex and interconnected challenges many patients face, and it is the right direction for both improving outcomes and alleviating pressure on hospitals.
"In many areas of the country, general practices working at scale through primary care networks and GP Federations, are already partnering alongside other organisations to deliver joined up care. It will be important to build on these positive successes.
"Delivering on this ambition will require sustained investment in digital and estates, support for the NHS’s workforce, and a commitment to decentralise national control by empowering local leaders to do what is best for their populations. On behalf of our members, we are eager to work with the government to help turn this bold vision into lasting change."
