PRESS RELEASE : Middlesbrough kicks off national roadshow of NHS debates [November 2024]

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 16 November 2024.

The national conversation about the NHS’s future took to the road, as Middlesbrough hosted the first of a series of public debates about fixing the NHS.

• Hundreds to take part in debates nationwide as 10 Year Health Plan roadshow kicks off in Middlesbrough, attended by Health and Social Care Secretary and NHS England Chief Executive
• First of series of events around the country will ensure views from local communities shape government plans to build an NHS fit for the future
• Almost one million visits to change.nhs.uk, after rallying cry was issued to entire nation to help shape 10 Year Health Plan

The biggest ever national conversation about the future of the NHS has taken to the road, with Middlesbrough hosting the first of a series of public debates about how to fix the health service.

More than 100 people from the North East and Yorkshire visited the town today (Saturday 16 November) to discuss their views of the NHS, share their experiences and offer suggestions for delivering an NHS fit for the future.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, and the Chief Executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, both attended. They asked people for their opinions on NHS reform and how the government’s 10 Year Health Plan can help tackle disparities in the wider region.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

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 and not knowing whether it will arrive in time – 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.

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 [years].

So 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 the future.

And for me, that means listening to your ideas for our 10 Year Health Plan.

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said:

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.

So it’s been really positive that so many people have come forward to let us know about their experience of the NHS – good, bad and frustrating.

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.

Last month, the government launched change.nhs.uk, issuing a rallying call to the entire nation – including all 1.5 million NHS staff, as well as patients, experts and the wider public – to visit the online platform to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS and to shape the plan.

The Change NHS online portal has already received almost one million visits. It will be live until spring 2025 and available via the NHS App.

Thousands of ideas to fix the health service have been submitted, with suggestions including:

• establishing an NHS research health company that can be used to get insights on early prevention
• digital records, so records from all hospitals are available to view at all GP surgeries
• pop-up and mobile clinics to meet surge demand for services in areas of need
• stop giving out paper leaflets and sending letters, and limit this to those who do not have access to IT to reduce waste

All submitted ideas will be carefully considered as part of the engagement process so that we can better understand the priorities of the public, patients and people working in health and care.

It comes as this week the government announced a package of tough reforms to cut wasteful spending and ensure the health service delivers greater value for money – so more goes back to the frontline of care to benefit patients and staff everywhere.

People in the North East and Yorkshire – one of the 7 NHS regions – are being affected by a range of widening health inequalities:

• at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 18-week waiting lists have risen by nearly 4,300 people (8%) in the past year to more than 53,000
• within the North East, life expectancy was lowest in Middlesbrough in 2020 to 2022, according to latest available stats
• in 2023 to 2024, 24.5% of children in year 6 in the North East (aged 10 to 11 years) were living with obesity – the highest in the country
• between July 2023 and June 2024, 42% of women booking maternity care with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust lived in the 20% most deprived areas of England
• 10% of adults with serious mental illnesses in the North East have been waiting for a second appointment with community mental health services for over 800 days

Today’s event in Middlesbrough will be the first of a series of events held in every region of the country to gain insights into the public’s experiences and to make the NHS fit for the future.

Comments about the event from those who attended included:

It’s been really eye opening to hear all the different opinions that people have had from around the region.

We feel really positive that we will come back around again and get back to the communities and have a sense of community that really cares and get those appointments that we need and really, really, really positive about the future.

It’s really encouraging to see all the different ideas, which is kind of saying different things that are already in play, and the fact that the Health Secretary is here as well really does feel like something is changing with time.

The public engagement exercise will help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which will be published in spring 2025 and will be underlined by 3 big shifts in healthcare:

• hospital to community
• analogue to digital
• sickness to prevention

As part of the first shift from ‘hospital to community’, the government wants to deliver plans for new neighbourhood health centres, which will be closer to homes and communities. Patients will be able to see family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, health visitors or mental health specialists, all under the same roof.

In transforming the NHS from analogue to digital, the government will create a more modern NHS by bringing together a single patient record, summarising patient health information, test results and letters in one place, through the NHS App.

By moving from sickness to prevention, the government wants to shorten the amount of time people spend in ill health and prevent illnesses before they happen.