Responding to Wes Streeting's speech on primary care reform

Commenting on Wes Streeting, Labour's Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary’s speech at The King’s Fund this morning, Beccy Baird, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund said:

‘There has been a clear consensus for more than 30 years, under successive governments, that moving care from hospital to communities is the right thing to do. The challenge is making this actually happen. Previous attempts to do this have failed spectacularly, with levels of investment and workforce growing in hospitals, yet stagnating or falling in primary and community care services.

‘There is much to welcome in the broad aims announced by the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. However, translating these warm words into tangible change for patients will require radical reform across the whole health and care system. From social care reform, to fully engaging the voluntary sector, to improving NHS buildings.

‘More GPs will be key to driving this change, but also vital will be the time and capacity from experienced GPs, who are already under extreme pressure, to train more new GPs. Efforts to retain these experienced staff are therefore critical to achieve the ambitions on recruitment. It will also rest on the training, retaining and integrating of more paramedics, district nurses, physiotherapists and other professionals that support people in the community.’'

Notes to editors

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact the Press and Public Affairs team on 020 7307 2585.

The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.