The UK’s new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has said that patients should get quicker access to GP appointments, and hospitals will receive “upgrades,” as part of new plans laid out.
In his first official speech at 10 Downing Street, he continued to promise that the Government will “fix the crisis for social care once and for all with a plan we have prepared” and added that the government would focus on “ensuring the money for the NHS really does get the frontline”.
The NHS Confederation has responded, welcoming the news and saying that “Today’s promise to fix the social care crisis once and for all will be music to the ears of the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people left every day without the vital care and support they need.”
“If the Prime Minister and his government can deliver a long term solution it will be among the most significant achievements of any administration in recent years. We look forward to engaging with the Prime Minister and his team through our Health for Care campaign to help bring an end to the crisis.
There is still scepticism however, as the organisation explain that they “need more details of exactly how this will be achieved alongside other welcome pledges by Mr Johnson today to upgrade hospitals and to speed up waiting times to see GPs. The NHS urgently needs extra capital investment to improve the quality of our buildings, infrastructure and electronic patient records so it is encouraging to hear that this is high up his list of priorities. We will be writing to the new PM about this in the coming weeks.”
