Middlesbrough is set to the host the biggest ever national conversation about the future of the NHS by hosting the first of several public debates that will discuss plans to improve our health services.

On Saturday 16th November, more than 100 people from the North East and Yorkshire visited Middlesbrough to share their experiences and offer improvements for creating a sustainable NHS for all.

Wes Streeting, the health and social care secretary, and Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, were both in attendance, and encouraged people to share their opinions on NHS reform and how the government's 10-Year Health Plan might be able to tackle disparities in the future.
 

Wes Streeting explained: "The NHS is going through what is objectively the worst crisis in its history. Whether it's people struggling to get a GP appointment, calling an ambulance an don't knowing whether it will arrive intimate - particularly the problem here in the North East - or whether it's turning up to a busy A&E department and waiting longer than people should."

The health and social care secretary also stressed the urgency of fixing the health service: "If we don't get this right, the NHS may not be there for us, not just where we need it, but as a public service, free at the point of use as it has been for the last 76."

All of these public conversations and debates are an integral part of the government's 10-Year Health Plan, and both Wes Streeting and Amanda Pritchard emphasise the importance of the public's opinion to the plan.
 

Wes Streeting commented: "We've got to grip this now and make the right long term decisions to get our NHS back on its feet and fit for our future." For him, "that means listening to your ideas for our 10 Year Health Plan."

Amanda Pritchard added: "The 10 Year Health Plan is a chance to help the NHS continue to innovate and adapt, and make the best practice, normal practice across the country", and emphasised the importance of the public: "We need patients and the public to continue to contribute to the 10 Year Health Plan -- and help us build an NHS fit for the future."

The government's emphasis on public opinion in reconstructing the NHS is reflected in their new online platform change.nhs.uk, which involves the entire nation, including all 1.5 million NHS staff, patients, and experts. The platform encourages the nation to share their experiences, views, and ideas for fixing the NHS and to contribute to its rebuilding. The national roadshow of NHS debates has arrived as change.nhs.uk has received almost one million visits.

Thousands of suggestions on shaping the new NHS have been made, including establishing an NHS research health company to provide insights in early prevention, hospital digital records being available to all GPs, mobile clinics to meet rising demands in areas of need, and digitising leaflets and letters where possible, limiting paper copies to those who don't have access to technology.

Last week, the government announced a series of tough reforms to reduce overspending, ensuring that more funding is directed towards the NHS, benefitting patients and staff across the country.

The North East and Yorkshire regions are disproportionately affected by numerous widening health equalities. At South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 18-week waiting lists have risen by 4,300 people in the past year to 53,000, and life expectancy was lowest in Middlesbrough in 2020 to 2022 within the North East. Within the last year, 24.5 percent of children in year 6 in the North East were obese. Moreover, between July 2023 and June 2024, 42 percent of women booking maternity care with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust lived in the 20 percent most deprived areas of England.

Saturday's event in Middlesbrough kicked off a series of events to be held across the country in order to take census of the public's experiences to improve the NHS.

This event precedes the government's 10 Year Health Plan to be published in spring 2025, focussing on three big shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

A part of the movement "from hospital to community" is the government's aims to deliver new neighbour health centres, closer to homes and communities, where patients can visit a variety of healthcare specialists - from family doctors to physiotherapists to mental health specialists - all in one place.

Digitising the NHS will modernise the health service by collating a single patient record will all information in one place via the NHS app.

Moving from sickness to prevention shifts the government's focus to reducing the amount of time people are unwell for, and prevent illnesses before they happen.