During the release of the autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves released a plan to create 250 new NHS neighbourhood health centres and invest £300m into new technologies to improve patient services.
“Today, I am announcing £300 million of investments in technology to improve patient service, and 250 new neighbourhood health service centres. [We are] expanding more health services into communities so that people can receive treatment outside of hospitals and get better, faster care where they live,” said Chancellor Rachel Reeves during the release of the budget.
The neighbourhood health centres will be built by repurposing current estates and new buildings.
According to Reeves, over 100 of the neighbourhood health centres will be delivered by 2030 in Birmingham, Truro, and Southall.
Modular construction firms involved in building theatres and sites for the NHS stress that the establishment of these centres will need to include their services.
“The devil will be in the delivery if the chancellor’s plans for increased Neighbourhood Health Centres are to be a success,” said David Harris, CEO of Premier Modular. “These facilities will need to be rolled out at a pace that cannot be delivered by bricks and mortar construction; modular building must be a central part of the solution.
Improving access and equity for healthcare
The centres are part of the government’s plan to build an NHS that is fit for the future and “end the postcard lottery of access to healthcare.”
"The Chancellor’s technology commitment, reform agenda and investment in integrated neighbourhood services is a transformative step for patient care and health equity,” said Orlando Agrippa, CEO at Sanius Health.
Sanius Health works closely with people living with rare and chronic conditions such as sickle cell disease.
According to Agrippa, the postcode lottery means that those who need coordinated and continuous care are often the ones least able to access it. This is evidenced in the budget plans to put centres in places like Truro, which is historically remote and under-resourced.
The neighbourhood health centres could change that by combining local staffing, wraparound social support and data-driven tools to give patients better continuity of care.
The neighbourhood health centres are set to launch first in England’s most deprived areas, with the aim of improving access, cutting waiting times and easing pressure on hospitals.
The intention of the centres is to move outpatient care out of hospitals and provide space for clinics in communities to allow patients to get treatment in minutes instead of travelling miles to get to hard-to-reach hospitals.
The neighbourhood health services will initially focus on supporting those with complex needs and long-term conditions, like diabetes, and will eventually expand to support other patients and priority cohorts.
Agrippa emphasised that delivering joined-up primary care within underserved communities has the potential to significantly reduce inequalities and improve continuity of care.
“Bringing services to people’s doorsteps rather than making patients organise their lives around the NHS is a fundamental step forward,” said Agrippa.
Technology upgrades to drive down waitlists
At the Budget, Rachel Reeves also rolled out £300m of new capital investment into NHS technology.
“More nurses, more GPs, more appointments… and investing in the future of our national health service,” said Reeves during the budget reveal.
The £300m investment will support new digital tools to automate administrative tasks and provide swifter access to patient information.
This will support NHS staff to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on patient care, which will improve productivity and drive down waiting lists.
New imaging equipment and patient monitoring systems, such as remote radiographer support products developed by Philips UKI, may fit within the technological boost that the government will seek to acquire.
“With public finances tight, every pound invested in health must work harder. Outdated equipment is slowing progress on tackling NHS waiting lists,” said Mark Leftwich, Managing Director at Philips UKI. “Smarter use of data, digital tools and AI-enabled imaging can support staff and give patients quicker access to the answers they need.”
According to information released by the Government, productivity for hospital care, such as A&E and surgery, is up 2.4% this year, meaning patients are being seen and treated more quickly across the health service.
Achieving 2% productivity growth is anticipated to unlock £17bn in savings over the next three years to be reinvested into the NHS in England to improve patient care.
“The Chancellor is rightly boosting investment in the NHS after we inherited a health service on its knees, with Lord Darzi’s investigation uncovering a £40bn black hole. But funding will only get us so far,” said Health Minister Karin Smyth.
The future of NHS reforms
The government has already announced intentions to move forward with sweeping reforms to the NHS, including:
- 18,000 posts cut
- Merging NHS England back into the Department of Health, which is anticipated to save £1bn a year
- Cutting the waiting list by over 200,000 from its peak, the biggest reduction in over 15 years
- Delivering an extra 5.2 million appointments
- Providing 135,000 more cancer diagnoses within a 28-day target
Advancing NHS services depends on sustained government investment, support that has now been strengthened through the latest autumn budget.