The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed that Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is to address his plans to get through the upcoming winter, as well as changes that will better prepare the NHS for the future.
Today, Barclay will make his first speech since returning to the role and he will be doing so at the NHS Providers conference in Liverpool, saying:
“We face the twin threats of Covid and flu, external pressures around energy and cost of living, and we enter the colder months without the breathing space that we might usually have due to covid pressures over the summer.
“So there is a huge amount to do to steer health and care through this storm and crucially, make the changes that will better prepare us for the storms to come…
“My focus will be on the areas that matter most to the patient experience.”
The Health and Social Care Secretary will also set out his five main priorities for the coming months, with them being to support the workforce, focus on recovery plans, tackle delayed hospital discharge, improve access to primary care, and to ensure that the future for health is stronger. The final point will include ensuring that momentum is maintained on the New Hospital Programme, as well as investing in further technology to improve outcomes for patients.
With the government’s aim of building 40 new hospitals by 2030, it is to be reiterated that there needs to be further investment in NHS buildings as well as making sure that the way that future are built is modernised. Whilst this might not be as important in the coming months, it will go on to ensure that the future of health and social care in this country is stronger.
