Steven Broomhead gives his verdict on the 10-year NHS plan which was revealed last week

THERE is much to be welcomed for our health and social care economy in the “10 Year NHS Plan”.

The plan ticks many of the right boxes. There is a strong emphasis on prevention and taking avoidable decisions together with earlier diagnosis.

The plan to prevent heart attacks, strokes and dementia and to give improved access to respiratory and cardiac services are to be welcomed.

The new emphasis on mental health services are also to be applauded.

However, while there is a strong set of aspirations, together with significant new funding (£21billion) there is the challenge of will all this be delivered?

The free at the point of need priority of the NHS needs to be continuously protected but our town needs to invest in new updated community health facilities and a new hospital urgently.

A new hospital which will take some years to deliver is paramount for our town’s future health and wellbeing.

The hard working staff at the hospital and patients deserve this in our growing town.

All of the town’s health leaders should make this a top priority for 2019 and beyond.

The NHS is also very over-bureaucratic, often drowning in red tape and unnecessary demarcation between professions and a real lack of tangible outcome based partnership working.

In medical terms colonic irrigation may be required to remove those very sticky and complicated management processes if the ambitions are to be delivered efficiently at a local level.

It is disappointing that given the emphasis on prevention since 2014 the public health budget has fallen by 16% in real terms – this needs to be reversed from the additional resources now available.

Unfortunately, the plan didn’t consider the future funding arrangements for adult social care which presents this town with a very significant challenge given our ageing population.

More than 20 per cent of people in our town are aged 65 and above and by 2050 there will be a 100 per cent increase in people aged over 80.

I hope post Brexit the government will get around to this as they have promised.

In the meantime, we all need to work smarter together to deliver early outcomes for this ambitious, well-funded and overall good plan.