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 monitor the effectiveness of services being delivered in the community instead of in secondary care;, and how he plans to take account of such monitoring in his response to the Darzi Review.

Some services traditionally delivered in secondary care, such as particular diagnostic tests, are already being delivered in the community. Services delivered in the community which can support reductions in acute care demand or hospital occupancy, for example virtual wards or urgent community response services, are monitored locally and nationally. There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of a range of community services in supporting better outcomes for patients, as well as reducing healthcare costs, and this will help inform the ambitious 10-Year Health Plan to reform the health service.

The 10 Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to build a National Health Service fit for the future: moving healthcare from hospital to the community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. This includes plans to move towards Neighbourhood Health Services, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier and shift care closer to peoples’ homes. It will be a key part of the response to the Darzi review.

A core part of the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, including its approach to secondary care services, will be an extensive engagement exercise with the public, staff, and stakeholders, including the third sector. Further details on how to get involved will be set out in the coming weeks