Josh Simons MP: moving NHS from hospitals to communities

Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has agreed to meet me to discuss this further.

At the first budget, this Government immediately increased funding for the NHS, not just in extra spending, but also for infrastructure projects.

Our area will receive expert support to bring down waiting lists, to support pioneering work already being done by the trust - from using data to target people who might miss appointments, to trialing more holistic local health centres.

The aspiration is to build centres for public health where you can visit your GP, pick up a prescription, have a diagnostic test, and fit in a swim or a fitness class while you’re there.

Now, our local NHS is supported by a government that shares the same ambitions: using data to focus on prevention rather than cures and shifting healthcare from hospitals into communities.

This is how we move our NHS from being on the back foot, caring for you in hospital once you’re unwell, to the front foot, preventing you from becoming ill, and providing what you need, where you are.

You can feed into our 10 year plan to do that here https://change.nhs.uk/.

Time and again, I have heard big concerns about the lack of health provision in Orrell and Hindley Green.

Having a GP in your area really matters. It is vital that the increase in funding is provided not just to hospitals to bring down waiting lists, but also to support the delivery of neighbourhood health centres in the communities that need them most.

In the first few months since I was elected, I have met NHS officials, the Council, planners and community organisations, alongside representatives from the government, to identify a concrete plan to increase the provision of healthcare in both Orrell and Hindley Green.

I will be sharing more updates on my progress in both these areas soon.

Pharmacies are an important part of moving to preventative local care.

That’s why I’m concerned about the imminent closure of the Hollowood pharmacy on Atherton Road in Hindley Green.

I share residents’ disappointment that an area like Hindley Green, which already has high demand and limited provision, is set to lose an important service.

I have put together a petition that you can sign at www.joshsimons.org/updates/pharmacy-closure and I’m in contact with the local NHS to work out what we can do.

Dentistry is also causing difficulties for many across the area, including in Bryn where an NHS practice became private almost overnight.

I’m asking representatives from dental practices across Makerfield’s towns to join a meeting to find out how we can change the national dentistry contract to support them in providing a better service for everyone.

Please send me your experiences and I will raise them at that meeting.

I want to unlock the benefits of the approach of community health provision in Orrell and Hindley Green, improving access to dentists in towns like Bryn, and keeping community pharmacies open.

The increase in funding we have provided must come with real, meaningful reforms in how the NHS works.

It's time to make sure our area benefits from these changes.