Thank you to everyone who contacted me about the use of public private partnerships in our National Health Service (NHS).
As your MP, I will always defend our NHS as a public service, free at the point of use, so that whenever you fall ill you never have to worry about the bill. Nothing in Fit for the future, the Government’s recently published NHS 10 Year Plan, will change this.
I support the Plan’s vision of bringing the NHS closer to local communities through the creation of more neighbourhood health centres. In these centres people will be able to see a GP, nurse, physio, care worker or therapist as well as to get tests, scans or treatment for minor injuries, all on the same site. Work is already underway to make this vision a reality, with an implementation programme launched earlier this year.
Regarding the possibility of using public private partnerships to build some of the centres, I note a business case is currently being prepared to examine this option. A decision about whether to proceed will be made before the next Budget is announced on 26 November 2025. I know that whatever decision is reached, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will seek to maximise value for money by repurposing existing National Health Service and public sector estates wherever this is possible.
In my view, it would be a dereliction of duty not to use every available resource to get patients the care they need closer to home. For too long, millions of people have faced unacceptably long waits for treatment. Thanks to vital extra investment I have supported as your MP, the Government has already recruited 2,000 new GPs over the past year. NHS waiting lists are also down by more than 200,000, with an extra two million appointments created for patients. This fulfils a key promise in my election manifesto.
At the same time, I am not complacent about the enormous challenges facing the NHS. I want to see progress continue with maximum waiting times cut from 18 months to 18 weeks. A lot remains to be done despite what has already been achieved in the past 12 months. That is why I welcome the 10 Year Plan, which I believe will help put our NHS back on track and ensure that treatment is always available based on clinical need, not ability to pay.
Thank you once again to everyone who got in touch about this important issue.