Burton and Uttoxeter’s Member of Parliament, Kate Griffiths, has posed a series of questions to the Health Secretary, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, about an increased localisation of health and care service delivery following the coronavirus pandemic.
In a series of parliamentary questions to the Health Secretary, Ms Griffiths highlighted the importance of primary care services such as GP surgeries and pharmacies, and called for these settings to be utilised for clearing the NHS backlog and providing healthcare closer to the communities they serve.
The MP also asked what steps the Department for Health and Social Care were taking to ensure more GP appointments were made available in the evening and at weekends, as well as delivering more mental health services in the community.
Earlier this year, Kate Griffiths MP, conducted a survey of Burton and Uttoxeter residents, which showed that a majority of respondents were in favour of local health centres being expanded to deliver greater health provision—including specialist care—closer to the residents’ homes, rather than having to travel to a larger health centre or Royal Stoke or Derby Hospitals.
Commenting, Kate Griffiths MP said:
“As we begin to build back from the pandemic, primary care will play a critical role in the most significant catch-up programme in NHS’s history.
“I know residents want to see care delivered as closely as possible to them, but this would also have significant benefits to the health service too, relieving pressure on hospitals and allowing them to focus on more complex and acute care.
“I will continue to push both the Heath Secretary and local NHS leaders to devolve more health services away from larger hospitals and into more local community settings where they are more accessible to residents.”
