NHS Plan is a missed opportunity, warns Helen Morgan

Helen Morgan MP has described the Government’s plan for the NHS as “a missed opportunity” due to its failure to fix social care and deal with healthcare challenges facing rural areas.

The North Shropshire MP welcomed the Ten-Year Plan’s ambition of shifting NHS care from hospitals into the community but warned that the NHS will not be fixed until social care is fixed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrat Health and Care Spokesperson said that key questions had still not been answered due to the lack of detail in the Ten-Year Plan.

Helen noted that the 143-page document published on Thursday barely mentioned social care despite the huge impact the sector’s lack of capacity has on hospital bed blocking, A&E waits and ambulance delays.

The North Shropshire MP asked the Secretary of State for assurance that people in rural areas will be able to access the neighbourhood health centres announced by the government, pointing out that the suggested one centre per 50,000 people would force patients in rural areas to travel huge distances for care in places with very limited public transport.

Helen also highlighted that people in places with poor internet or mobile signal, like many areas of Shropshire, risked being cut off from digital care and must be given alternative provision. The MP has spoken to many elderly constituents who are digitally excluded and fear being further excluded by the shift to app-based care.

Speaking afterwards, Helen Morgan MP said, “The Government’s Ten-Year Plan is a missed opportunity to fix the damage the Conservatives caused our NHS.

“We have long needed to shift more care into the community but the NHS will not be fixed until social care is fixed.

“The lack of care capacity clogs up hospitals and is a key cause of the long delays so many patients face in Shropshire.

“Any plan for the NHS must account for this and the extra challenges we face in rural areas. Ministers are saying some of the right things but the Ten-Year Plan is still missing far too many important details.”