Today, the NHS provides more people with high-quality care than at any time in its history. Moreover, this Government will provide the NHS with an additional £10 billion funding per annum by 2020, and will ensure the recruitment of a record number of new doctors and nurses into the Service.
However, it is clear that the NHS is facing significant challenges. Britain's public services are built on the prosperity of a strong economy. Only a Conservative Government, with an economic vision for Britain, can help the NHS to rise to meet these challenges. Through a combination of increased financial commitment and bold reforms, we will ensure that the NHS will go from strength to strength.
The Labour Party have already proven that the NHS will not be safe in their hands. Not only are they incapable of delivering the strong economy which funds the NHS, but they have clearly opposed the vital reforms which will improve conditions for patients and ensure value for the taxpayer. These include the extension of nurse training to thousands more people and the creation of care services which will treat patients in their own homes, rather than keeping them in hospital.
The Five Year Forward View, published by the NHS itself, is a report that lays out the service's own vision of the future of care in this country. It envisages a Britain where the NHS provides more care closer to home, prioritises disease prevention as well as treatment, and endows citizens with the tools and information they require to manage their own care.
In each of 44 local regions, commissioners, providers and local authorities have come together to decide how to improve healthcare services and realise the vision of the Five Year Forward View. Far from being secret, the Sustainability and Transformation Plans were publicly announced by NHS England in December 2015. These plans are not about making cuts, but are focussed that the increased funding and resources directed to the NHS leads directly to a better quality of care for patients.
The first draft of the plans have been submitted to NHS England, who are currently scrutinising them and providing feedback on the proposals. A more formal process of local consultation is expected to begin later this year. Only plans which are ambitious, realistic and set out a clear case of how patients will benefit will be approved. The plans will then be published with full public engagement and consultation; no changes to the services people currently receive will be made without their approval. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring full transparency and accountability as the plans are implemented.
