Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Josh MacAlister and Ashley Dalton

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington) (Lab)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to implement neighbourhood health centres.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

We are committed to fixing the front door of the NHS, including by delivering the primary care infrastructure required to enable a neighbourhood health service. We have already taken steps to improve primary care infrastructure, including by providing £100 million of capital funding to upgrade GP buildings. We will set out how we will move to a neighbourhood health service in our upcoming 10-year plan, following the spending review.

[Josh MacAlister]

I thank the Minister for her answer. Workington suffers from some really poor health outcomes and has an incredibly fragmented health system. I have worked with local leaders in my constituency to pull together a plan for a new neighbourhood health centre called the Workington health zone, based around multidisciplinary teams, clear goals, less bureaucracy and much greater access for patients. Does the Minister agree that this is exactly the kind of reform that we need to enable through the forthcoming 10-year plan?