皇冠体育app

Thank you for having me. It鈥檚 great to be back.

Back as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Back in a Conservative government with the biggest majority in 30 years so we can get things done and move this country forward.

And brilliant timing that Policy Exchange has brought out the People鈥檚 NHS, which is your research into the public鈥檚 top priorities and I鈥檓 delighted to say it was no surprise.

No surprise that commitment to 鈥榤ore stuff鈥� is at the top of the list 鈥� and fits with my experience over the last 18 months as Health Secretary and over the last 6 weeks, where I鈥檝e visited more hospitals than I鈥檝e had hot dinners.

It鈥檚 also great to be back here with you today and see so many familiar faces.

Over the past 6 weeks, I鈥檝e been right across the country. From Durham to Devon. From Bishop Auckland to Bracknell. I went down to Cornwall and took a dip in the sea. I鈥檝e been to the beautiful beaches of Banff and Buchan.

I鈥檝e been to so many hospitals that I鈥檝e racked up a small fortune in car parking charges. But we鈥檙e doing something about that.

125 constituency visits.

I鈥檝e spoken to doctors, nurses, paramedics, porters, and patients the length and breadth of this nation.

I鈥檝e learnt a lot. As well as being on broadcast and trying to win this general election and supporting the party, I鈥檝e also been listening.

And it鈥檚 clear: what unites us, what we share is a deep and abiding love for the NHS. It鈥檚 as if those 3 letters are embedded into our collective DNA.

One of the things this election result proves is that the people of this country want us to get Brexit done and invest in our NHS.

What we need now is a vision: a long-term plan for health and social care 鈥� bold, confident and ambitious.

That message resonated so strongly with patients who I met and with the people who work in the NHS, who are desperate for the improvements in technology and to make sure that the pressures on the NHS are relieved.

When we look back in 2030 to this moment 鈥� this once in a generation opportunity 鈥� where a political commitment and the financial resources are in perfect alignment with the overwhelming public mandate, I want us to be able to say: 鈥淵es. We got it right.鈥�

We made the right decisions, took the necessary steps to build a stronger and more sustainable health and social care system.

Because I want us to seize this opportunity and over the next decade, by 2030, have an NHS where everyone is empowered and supported to stay healthy and out of hospital wherever possible.

Where people have more control over their personal healthcare, and technology enhances the ability of staff to care.

Where we build on the record levels of satisfaction in the NHS that we see right now, and the record levels of treatment in the NHS and build on our cutting-edge life sciences. Create a more integrated NHS with a culture that maximises the potential of every single member of its staff.

I want to stress this point. I鈥檝e met so many members of staff in the NHS over last 6 weeks and there鈥檚 so much dedication and commitment, but there are also parts of the NHS where that full potential is not brought out of every single individual, and that is down to leadership and culture.

We need a leadership and culture across the whole NHS that matches the best parts of it now where every single person can achieve their best. I鈥檝e seen that talking to people on wards, in primary care and talking to people at all levels 鈥� the capability must be unleashed with a more supportive working culture.

We also need to rise to increasing levels of demand and an ageing population are not things we fear, but things we are prepared for, and can make the most of because people living longer is a good thing we should celebrate.

That鈥檚 my vision for where we need to get to. And I know it鈥檚 a vision shared by people across the nation.

One of the things I heard, over and over again, is that the early priorities I set for the whole of the health and social care system 鈥� these priorities are the right priorities, and we need to double down and re-energise them.

And thanks to the emphatic support of the Prime Minister, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I can add one more. So my priorities, which will apply to each and every part of the health and care system, are:

• Prevention: because prevention is better than cure.

• People: because we need more people working smarter.

• Technology: because patients and clinicians demand better.

And today, I鈥檓 adding a fourth priority. Infrastructure: because buildings matter too.

And all of this capital investment is underpinned by our record financial commitment to the NHS Long Term Plan: 拢33.9 billion extra every year within the next 5 years.

And we will meet our first manifesto pledge by enshrining that into law.

My 4 priorities are backed by clear numerical commitments we made in the campaign, which I am determined to meet:

• 40 new hospitals over the next decade
• 50,000 more nurses
• 6,000 more GPs
• 6,000 more primary care professionals
• and 50 million more GP appointments

We will deliver on these and each and every commitment in our manifesto.

One of the reasons I鈥檓 here, less than a week from the election result, having worked through the weekend to get the early announcements out 鈥� is that we are absolutely determined to deliver on our commitments.

So let me just take a moment to spell out what this record investment means for each of my 4 priorities.

First: infrastructure.

Over the last couple of decades, the approach to upgrading hospital infrastructure has been too piecemeal and unstrategic. I鈥檝e seen some places where the infrastructure is fantastic, but in others it鈥檚 crying out for an upgrade.

Under the Health Infrastructure Plan, the NHS will come out of the 2020s completely physically transformed. 40 new hospitals over the next decade, but also addressing the short-term demands, fixing the backlog of maintenance and integrating care, both between primary and secondary, community and mental health, and the wider life sciences and research agenda.

皇冠体育app Health Infrastructure Plan will include the 20 hospital upgrades the PM announced on the steps of Downing Street, which are already underway.

We鈥檙e going to build a better NHS brick by brick: modern well-designed wards, with the right facilities to speed up recovery, ensure patients receive the right treatment, cut waiting times, improve patient safety, and make life easier for staff.

But it鈥檚 not just about the bricks and mortar. It鈥檚 about integrating care better. It鈥檚 going to be the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

And we鈥檙e going to radically simplify the approvals process to make the whole approach for the use of capital investment more strategic across integrated care systems 鈥� not piecemeal trust by trust.

But it isn鈥檛 just about investing in new buildings, but embracing a new mindset.

So my second priority is prevention. Putting prevention at the heart of everything we do. Prevention of ill health.

It can鈥檛 be right that as we enter the 2020s a man born in Buckingham can expect 68 years of good health, but a man born in Blackpool can only expect 53. That鈥檚 a health-span gap of 15 years. And it starts even before a child is born.

So we鈥檙e massively investing in maternity care and in primary care because primary care is the frontline of prevention.

We will deliver an extra 50 million appointments a year in general practice within the next 5 years 鈥� by expanding the workforce, harnessing the power of technology, and giving GPs the support they need.

And we will also 鈥渦nleash the potential鈥� of our pharmacies because there really is so much more they are capable of doing.

Over the next 5 years, they will become the first port of call for patients with minor illnesses. More than 10,000 pharmacies are ready to receive referrals from other parts of the health service 鈥� and that number will grow.

皇冠体育app prevention agenda is incredibly important because prevention is better than cure.

We also know the challenges the NHS faces: demand is rising faster than at any point in history.

Baby-boomers are reaching the age where they need more and more healthcare.

So, as well as investing in infrastructure, we need to make the 2020s a decade of prevention of ill health:

Support everyone to take more care of their own health. I don鈥檛 believe in the worried well 鈥� I want healthy people to be concerned about their own health so they stay healthy.

Vaccinate against preventable diseases.

Redouble our efforts to be smoke-free, redouble our efforts on obesity, and embed a more proactive, predictive and personalised approach across the NHS.

And we must hardwire good health into housing, transport, education, welfare and the economy because we all know preventing ill health 鈥� mental and physical 鈥� is about more than just healthcare. I pay tribute to the work of Public Health England, and we are going to do much more.

My third priority is people.

On my 125 visits, I met the most amazing people and was inspired once again by their service and dedication. We need the right numbers of people, and we also need the right culture.

I know there is an urgent need for more nurses in our health service.

Every hospital I go to, I ask staff, top to bottom: 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one thing you could change what would it be?鈥� and the 鈥渘umber of nurses鈥� is, without fail, the number one thing.

So I welcome yesterday鈥檚 news that we now have record numbers of registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates. 皇冠体育app Nursing and Midwifery Council said the all-time high figure has been achieved by more people 鈥� more new nurses 鈥� joining the register and fewer people leaving.

I will deliver on the commitment that, in 5 years time, we will have 50,000 more nurses in the NHS.

More nurses coming through the traditional route. More nursing apprenticeships, which I introduced as skills minister and means a lot to me. More international nurses.

And of course more retention because you increase the number of nurses by persuading fewer to leave.

And I can formally announce today, we are starting immediately with delivering on our commitment of 50,000 more nurses.

First, we are launching an expanded nursing recruitment advertising campaign.

As my grandmother taught me, nursing is one of the most fulfilling careers you can have. 皇冠体育appse days it鈥檚 a high-tech, highly rewarding job, one of the most respected, valued and caring professions you can do.

I鈥檇 like to thank the Chief Nurse, Dr Ruth May, for the work she鈥檚 done to attract the brightest and the best into nursing, but I know that advertising alone is not enough.

So to attract more nurses into the profession, and to reward students who choose nursing as a career, today I can announce a 拢2 billion package of financial support for trainee nurses.

We鈥檙e going to give student nurses a free, non-repayable training grant worth up to 拢8,000 a year, on top of the existing funding available, almost doubling the financial support on offer.

Every student nurse will receive at least 拢5,000 extra a year from next September, with more financial support for childcare costs, or in regions or disciplines, such as mental health, where the need for nurses is more acute.

At the same time, we will expand further the routes into nursing with more nursing associates and apprentices. I want to make it easy to climb the career ladder to become a fully registered nurse.

It鈥檚 not just about nurses 鈥� GPs are the bedrock and nurses are the lifeblood of the NHS, and we must invest in both to build a better NHS.

I can also announce we will fix the pensions system so senior doctors and nurses can take on extra shifts without the fear of an unexpected tax bill.

We鈥檝e already agreed a short-term solution for this winter, but today I can announce we鈥檙e launching an urgent review of the annual allowance taper so we can fix it permanently and give clinicians the confidence to do their jobs in the knowledge they will be fairly rewarded.

My department and the Treasury will work with the royal colleges and the British Medical Association to create a system that works for everyone.

But numbers are not enough. We must also change the working culture in large parts of the NHS so it鈥檚 a place where everyone鈥檚 contribution is valued.

It鈥檚 essential we cut the number of staff leaving the NHS each year because they feel burnt-out or under-valued.

We do that by:

• creating a positive, inclusive and compassionate culture
• tackling bullying, harassment, and discrimination
• and placing as much importance on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our staff as our patients

That鈥檚 how we create the right culture and recruit and retain more staff. Our People Plan, led by Baroness Dido Harding, will set out the transformation to the working culture I want to see right across the NHS.

My fourth priority is technology.

If you thought I was going to relent on tech then I鈥檓 afraid I鈥檝e got some bad news for you.

皇冠体育app next 5 years are going to see continuous upgrades.

And I know from my 125 visits how much the frontline is demanding better tech. I鈥檝e seen the amount of time it saves clinicians.

皇冠体育appre鈥檚 a brilliant example in Warrington 鈥� they had just introduced the e-prescribing on medicine rounds in the hospital. 皇冠体育app drugs trolley was connected to the system so they knew exactly what medicine to put into patients鈥� casing and then the taking of the medicine was confirmed in the system.

It鈥檚 simple technology and it鈥檚 saving clinicians half an hour per day.

So we鈥檙e going to double down on the tech agenda and bring the NHS into the 21st century.

We鈥檙e going to use digital technology to ease the burden on staff, give people the tools and information to manage their own healthcare, and make sure that patient data can be safely accessed wherever and whenever it鈥檚 needed across the system.

Better technology means a child getting immediate support through their smartphone while they wait for their first mental health appointment.

Better technology means your elderly relative can live independently for longer thanks to wearables.

Better tech means we can help our staff with tools like e-rostering, instead of trusts having to phone round and fork out on agency fees.

It鈥檚 quite simple: better tech means better health and social care.

That鈥檚 why I set up NHSX. 皇冠体育appir task is to articulate the vision, define the strategy, decide on priorities and spending, and then oversee delivery.

NHS Digital also has a vital role to play: designing, building, deploying and operating digital products and services.

But we need to get the basics right. Just to give you one example:

At Alder Hey they鈥檝e reduced the time spent logging into each individual computer system from 1 minute 45 seconds to just 10 seconds. 皇冠体育appre鈥檚 almost 5,000 logins a day so that鈥檚 over 130 clinical hours saved each day.

I want the whole of the NHS to be part of the programme that will take us into the 2020s, not just the leading trusts.

Until now, the focus has been on getting some hospitals up to scratch through the global digital exemplar programme. 皇冠体育appy鈥檝e got to keep advancing, but now we鈥檙e going to help many more hospitals with a new digital aspirant programme.

And this model of excellence crucially will become part of the CQC鈥檚 inspection regime too so people know they will be assessed against good use of high-quality technology and incentivised to deliver.

We鈥檙e going to use technology on the frontline and also to advance the cutting-edge techniques and we鈥檙e going to make the UK the world leader in life sciences, with doubling research into dementia and making sure data can be used appropriately and properly to advance the needs of the medical research community 鈥� to find new treatments and save more lives.

Each of my 4 priorities apply across every part of the system: pharmacies, primary care, community care, mental health, hospitals, and social care too.

We must seize this once in a generation opportunity by being bold, confident, ambitious, and harnessing the energy and enthusiasm that has been unleashed in this country for change.

That thing which unites us: the NHS. We can remake it anew, ready to rise to the challenges of today and of tomorrow by investing in infrastructure, embracing and embedding prevention, nurturing and empowering our people, and the best health technology in the world.

皇冠体育appse are my 4 priorities as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as part of this new One Nation Conservative government.

It鈥檚 an energising agenda and I look forward to working with you all.

I am energised, excited but also absolutely determined to meet the commitments we鈥檝e made 鈥� and also to repay the trust put in us.

皇冠体育appre鈥檚 a lot of work to do. So let鈥檚 get to it.