Community services boost in long-term plan

Prime minister Theresa May announced the investment – which will come from the promised £20.5bn over the next five years – insisting it would help cut unnecessary hospital admissions and ensure inpatients returned home sooner.

There will be 24/7 community-based rapid response teams and dedicated care home resident support – this will include emergency treatment as well as everyday care closer to patients’ homes. Expanded community and primary services will be a key part of the long-term plan.

Mrs May (pictured) said: ‘Too often people end up in hospital not because it’s the best place to meet their needs but because the support that would allow them to be treated or recover in their own home just isn’t available.

‘Many of us might assume that hospital is the safest place to be – but in reality many patients would be much better off being cared for in the community.

‘And the longer a patient stays in hospital the more it costs the NHS and the more pressure is put on its hardworking staff. This needs to change.’

Amber Jabbal, head of policy at NHS Providers, welcomed the announcement, saying the services had been marginalised and neglected in the past.

She added: ‘It is not clear from this announcement whether the additional funding amounts to a significantly increased share of the overall NHS budget for primary and community services. We look forward to detailed confirmation that this will be the case.

‘Given that new commitments are being announced separately, we need to see how these all fit together. It is vital that we recover NHS finances and performance as well as transform services. To do this the long-term plan must be coherent, have clear priorities and be manageable for the frontline staff who will deliver it.’

Health Foundation director of research and economics Anita Charlesworth said the allocation to community and primary care would mean ‘hard choices’ elsewhere.

'Without a strong focus in the NHS long-term plan on how to improve services – such as by increasing continuity of care and supporting people to manage their own conditions – we will continue to see mounting pressure on hospitals while their share of funding potentially decreases,’ she said.

‘And if primary and community services are genuinely to be the priority, the biggest challenge will be staffing; GP numbers are falling and attempts to recruit more internationally have fallen well short of the government’s targets. This financial plan must be backed by a credible transformation and workforce plan.’