Millions of hospital appointments to be scrapped and moved to local clinics or patients' homes

Millions of hospital appointments will be scrapped and moved to local clinics or patients’ own homes under Government plans to ‘fundamentally rewire’ the NHS.

Sir Keir Starmer will announce the launch of a new Neighbourhood Health Service that seeks to put care on ‘people’s doorsteps'.

It means the ‘status quo of hospital by default' will end, with the facilities reserved for only the sickest patients.

The Prime Minister will use a speech in London on Thursday to unveil his 10 Year Plan for Health, which will focus on ‘three big shifts' in the way the NHS operates.

It will aim to move from an analogue to digital service; reduce demand for treatment by preventing ill health in the first place; and shift care from hospitals into the community.

By 2035, the intention is that most outpatient care - accounting for 135million appointments last year - will happen outside of hospitals, with less need for hospital-based consultations for things such as eye care, cardiology, respiratory medicine and mental health.

Neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across the country to bring tests, post-op care, nursing and mental health teams closer to people’s homes.

New health centres will open at evenings and weekends, staffed by teams including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, palliative care staff and paramedics.

The ‘status quo of hospital by default' will end, with the facilities reserved for only the sickest patients

New services will also include debt advice, employment support and stop smoking or obesity services – all of which affect people’s health.

Community outreach, which sees clinicians going door to door, could also reduce pressure on GPs and A&E, the Government said.

The plans outline training for thousands more GPs, as the Government pledges to ‘bring back the family doctor’ and end the ‘8am scramble’ to get an appointment.

Sir Keir said: ‘The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.

‘But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.

‘That ends now. Because it’s reform or die. Our 10-year health plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.

‘That means giving everyone access to GPs, nurses and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood – rebalancing our health system so that it fits around patients’ lives, not the other way round.’

He admitted it is ‘not an overnight fix’ but promised to give patients ‘easier, quicker and more convenient care, wherever they live’.

Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) will announce the launch of a new Neighbourhood Health Service that seeks to put care on ‘people’s doorsteps'.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the plan would deliver ‘one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history’.

He added: ‘By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.’

In a bid to free up time, GPs will be encouraged to use artificial intelligence to take notes, while technology will be used to speed up the answering of calls to surgeries.

Dental therapists, who tend to carry out some of the straightforward work of dentists, could undertake check-ups, treatment and referrals, according to the plan.

And there will be a new requirement for newly-qualified dentists to practise in the NHS for a minimum period, intended to be three years, according to the Government.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King’s Fund, a health think tank, said: 'As the Government publishes its 10-year plan for health today, what patients, the public and those working in the NHS will want to know is, why it will be different this time, and how soon it will lead to improvements?

‘When will it mean people can see a GP more easily, or get mental health support for their child, or not wait hours in A&E?’

Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, another health think tank, said community care is essential ‘if we want to end the disjointed ways of working that too often leave patients to do the time-consuming and often bewildering job of joining up their own care’.

Health secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) said the plan would deliver ‘one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history’

But she warned a that a lack of detail on how it will all work ‘casts doubt on whether it will stick’.

She added: ‘What’s more, care closer to home doesn’t mean care on the cheap.

‘While ministers are always keen to cite examples of community services saving money, often this kind of care costs more, not less.’

Edward Argar, the Tory shadow health secretary, said: ‘With Keir Starmer and his government destroying growth, killing jobs, and gearing up for more tax rises this Autumn these reforms risk becoming little more than an announcement, with no real delivery plan behind it.’

Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'A neighbourhood health service is a bold vision and it needs nursing staff in the driving seat.

'Crucial teams of district nursing and health visiting staff, who keep patients well and safe at home, have fallen by thousands in the last decade or more.’