Primary Healthcare Facilities Debate
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Lord Laming
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Primary Healthcare Facilities
Lord Laming Excerpts(4 days, 2 hours ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I am very pleased to congratulate Mayor Ros Jones on this initiative, as I would be pleased to congratulate such initiatives up and down the country. My noble friend is right to talk about the great benefits to local communities, which I myself remember, as will my noble friend, from the previous Government, in terms of walk-in health centres, which made a huge difference. To the point about repairs to the local hospital, it is vital, if we are to create the right NHS going forward through the 10-year plan, that we repair and rebuild the healthcare estate, which has a very considerable backlog maintenance bill after years of underinvestment. That is why the Chancellor confirmed extra investment for the backlog of critical NHS maintenance and repair upgrades.
Lord Laming (CB)
Does the Minister agree that success depends on quite sophisticated co-ordination of different services employed in different organisations? That includes not just community nurses but home helps, specialist hospital-type equipment, the whole range of adaptions to property, and the like. Can the Minister assure the House that these things will be properly considered as we go forward to try to improve the movement from hospital to the community?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I certainly agree and can reassure the noble Lord that this is the case. I know that your Lordships’ House will have heard me speak previously about the very considerable investment that the Chancellor committed to in the Budget to provide adaptions for people’s houses in order that they could be cared for at home. I also say to the noble Lord that integrated care systems infrastructure strategies have been developed, which will create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment, while community health services also provide for planned and urgent care close to home, including clinics, care homes and, to the point raised by a previous noble Baroness, community hospitals.