HUNDREDS of new NHS “one stop shops” will be unveiled in Wednesday’s Budget in a major drive to slash waiting times.
The 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres will bring GPs, nurses, dentists and pharmacists together under one roof – starting in the poorest areas.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “At the Budget I’ll set out how we’ll deliver on the country’s priorities to cut NHS waiting times, cut debt and cut the cost of living.
“We’re driving down waiting lists by bringing healthcare to patients’ doorsteps and turbocharging NHS productivity with cutting-edge technology.
“Our record investment, combined with ruthless efficiency and reform, will deliver the better care and better outcomes our NHS patients deserve.”
A £300million tech boost will roll out new digital tools to speed up treatment by wiping out paperwork and giving staff faster access to patient info.
Hospital productivity is already up 2.4 per cent this year, and ministers say hitting 2 per cent growth annually would unlock £17billion to reinvest in care.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “Neighbourhood Health Centres fundamentally reimagine how the NHS works – bringing care closer to home and making sure the NHS is organised around patients’ needs, not the other way round.”
This week, The Sun revealed that the NHS paid out a record high £123million to families of patients who died after blunders by doctors and nurses last year.
The staggering nine-figure “kill bill”, obtained by The Sun using FoI laws, showed it had coughed up to 1,279 families following a slew of serious medical negligence failures.
Victims of NHS blunders include children, women in labour and sick Brits attacked by another patient inside hospitals.
It includes hundreds of cases where delays in diagnosing medical conditions directly led to a patient’s death.
Each family was paid an average settlement of £96,000, though some cases pursued through mediation body NHS Resolution can be ended with no financial payout.
The number of cases settled has hit an all-time high and payouts soared by £30million in only two years.
