Basingstoke MP Maria Miller is encouraging residents to have their say on the new NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are 5 year plans covering all areas of NHS spending, which are being developed in 44 local areas across England. Their aim is to show how services will be improved to realise the NHS vision of providing more care closer to home, prioritising prevention, and empowering people with the tools and information to manage their own care.
Maria said: “The health budget is increasing but so are the demands we make on our local health service. This plan produced by the NHS identifies a new way of working, making sure that resources for the NHS lead directly to better care for patients.”
“I very much welcome the plans to strengthen and invest in primary care, with proposals for GP practices to deliver urgent care across an extended 7 day period, new models of integrated care for children, and more specialist services, which people want.”
Maria also said: “There is nothing more important than the NHS, and with these huge challenges, the focus needs to be on how we deliver the best healthcare for people in Hampshire and for residents of Basingstoke.”
Maria added: “The STP is about the next five years, and does not address the future of our hospital in Basingstoke. The detailed consideration around this is being dealt with separately. I fully support the plans set out by our local health professionals for a new Critical Treatment Hospital for Basingstoke, which would offer new ways to deliver the high quality healthcare Basingstoke enjoys.”
“The population of Basingstoke is expected to grow by 35-40,000 in the next 10 to 15 years. I met NHS England, the people leading the work on our STP, as well as the local authorities, to underline this rate of growth; and I have had assurances from the local commissioning body that the plan for GP surgeries and the hospital in this STP does indeed reflect that growth.”
“The Government is committed to ensuring full transparency and accountability about how the plans are being implemented and have been clear that no changes to the services people currently receive will be made without full public engagement and consultation. I would urge Basingstoke residents to get involved in the consultation.”
