Hospital to Community Care

17. What steps he is taking to transfer care from hospitals into the community.

The Darzi investigation found that NHS resources are too focused on hospitals at the expense of community care. Our reforms will turn the NHS into more of a neighbourhood health service. We have already recruited an extra 2,000 more GPs, we are rolling out 700,000 extra dental appointments, and we have agreed a new contract of investment and reform for community pharmacy. As part of our 10-year plan, we will be rolling out neighbourhood health centres across the country, starting with the places that are in the greatest need.

I thank my hon. Friend for his answer, and for the brilliant work that the whole team is doing to put the NHS 10-year plan into action. Transferring care into the community will give many more patients quick and easy access to specialist care when they need it. However, access to Parkinson’s nurses—who are worth their weight in gold—remains deeply unequal. Too often, patients are left without nurses and have to travel a long way to see a specialist nurse. Worse still, the few Parkinson’s nurses who are available are predominantly funded by Parkinson’s UK. Can the Minister set out what steps are being taken to increase equitable access to Parkinson’s nurses across the country?

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and congratulate him on his work campaigning on this issue. Regular support and advice from a Parkinson’s disease nurse specialist is highlighted as a key intervention in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on Parkinson’s disease in adults. The forthcoming 10-year workforce plan will support the 10-year health plan by addressing workforce shortages and skills gaps. This will be crucial to delivering quality and accessible care for those with Parkinson’s.

Ironically, getting care out of hospitals and into the community very much depends on a functioning hospital. Last month, I met the group chief executive officer of Hull University teaching hospitals NHS trust, following news that it had been placed in segment 4 of the NHS acute trust league table. She acknowledged the urgent need for improvement and expressed clear ambition for change, but she will not be able to deliver the transformation of that important hospital alone. Could I meet the Secretary of State or Ministers to discuss what more can be done to support that hospital on its road to transformation and improvement?

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. I am not familiar with the details of that case, but if he would not mind writing to me, I would be very happy to take that issue forward. He is right that there is a mountain to climb, not least because of the mess that was left to us by the previous Government, but we are climbing that mountain step by step. The 10-year plan is a big step in the right direction; it is now all about delivery, and that is what we are doing every day.