Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to care in the community in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to building a Neighbourhood Health Service that will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in the community when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary.

Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.

In addition, over the course of the plan, our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority, and voluntary sector services in one building, to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations.

Moreover, in the future, there will also be neighbourhood health plans drawn up by local government, the NHS, and its partners. The integrated care board will bring together these plans into a population health improvement plan for their footprint, which they will use to inform commissioning decisions.

We will transform access to primary and community care services, including general practice, NHS dentistry, and community pharmacy, and provide more urgent care and outpatient appointments in the community, to ensure better value for money and to reduce unnecessary attendances and stays in hospital.