Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones has welcomed comments made by the new Chief Executive of the NHS, Simon Stevens, who has signalled a marked change in current policy by saying that the NHS must expand local services, meaning hospitals such as the George Eliot Hospital could benefit.
In his first interview as the Chief Executive, Mr Stevens said that he believes the NHS should treat more people in their local communities, and that it must abandon its fixation with ‘mass centralisation’. He also indicated that the waiting time targets introduced by the last Government became “an impediment to care” in too many cases, such as that in Mid Staffs.
Mr Stevens said Britain must learn from countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States, which have pioneered ways of bolstering community care around small hospitals to meet the needs of their populations, a suggestion welcomed by Nuneaton’s MP, who believes that it is beneficial to treat patients within their local communities and that smaller hospitals better meet the needs of older patients. Two thirds of hospital patients are over retirement age.
The George Eliot Hospital has been subject of intense speculation over its future in recent years, and Marcus has opposed repeated attempts to centralise services in Coventry to sustain the PFI deal signed by the last Labour Government.
However, Marcus now believes that the improvements being made at the Eliot, and mentoring from the University Hospitals Birmingham, are signs that the future of the Eliot is now more certain. Despite the improvements following the Keough Review, Marcus acknowledges that there is more for the hospital to do and that there can be no room for complacency.
Commenting on the remarks made by the NHS boss, Marcus said: “I read Mr Stevens’ remarks with interest and firmly believe that he is right. Treating people in their communities has many merits, and having local health services that can adapt to the health challenges of local people is absolutely vital.
“There are many lessons we can learn from other parts of the world who may operate in a slightly different way to the NHS. Mr Stevens mentioned that Sweden has in some ways better working between health and social care than we have, and I am particularly interested in learning more about that. I know from the people who contact me as their MP that the transition between health and social care is not always seamless, and there are too many gaps patients can fall between.
“Since being elected to Parliament, and indeed before my election, I have been a keen and vocal supporter of the George Eliot Hospital and the services it provides. For years we saw what was almost an asset stripping exercise at the Eliot. Seeing it develop those services is a key priority and I am pleased to hear the comments of the new Chief Executive of the NHS, as I am sure many of my constituents are.”