Cuts to A&E

October 2016

I recognise the important role played by A&E departments across the country. I know the NHS is under pressure, and to ensure the best standards of care in the future we need an updated system which even better prioritises GP access, cancer care and mental health treatment. The NHS is using sustainability and transformation plans (so called STPs) to help deliver this change. No decisions have been made and none will occur without local consultation.

The Five Year Forward View, produced by the NHS itself, sets out its own vision for the future. Its vision is one where the NHS provides more care closer to home, prioritises prevention and empowers citizens with the tools and information to manage their own care.

In each of 44 local areas, commissioners, providers and local authorities have come together to decide how to improve services and realise this vision. Far from being secret, STPs were publicly announced by NHS England in December 2015. These plans are not about making cuts, but to ensure that increased resources for the NHS lead directly to better care for patients and this has definitely been the tone and the intent of the conversations I have had with local health care service providers in Worcestershire over the last few months - and indeed when I met them to discuss the local STP just two weeks ago.

First draft plans have been submitted to NHS England who are scrutinising them and providing feedback and 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 for how patients will benefit will be approved. The plans will then be published with full public engagement and consultation and no changes to the services people currently receive will be made without this. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring full transparency and accountability about how the plans are being implemented.

I am very concerned about maintaining a great NHS -  and I will continue to work to ensure that we have the best healthcare possible in Worcestershire for you, my family and all my constituents to rely on.