Hospital boss helps with ten year plan

The boss of the city's hospital trust is among top NHS leaders drawing up a 10-year plan for how extra health funding will be used.

Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, will work on the project after the Prime Minister announced an extra £20bn in funding.

He will work with Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, on improvements to the care of people with long-term conditions and dementia.

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At least 8,400 people have dementia in Leeds and the figure will rise to 12,000 by 2026.

Mr Hartley said: “I am delighted to be a part of this work to develop the NHS’s 10-year plan.

“It is a great opportunity to really shape the future of the NHS and to tackle some of the challenges it faces.”

In March Prime Minister Theresa May announced the extra NHS funding, along with a “sustainable long-term plan” for the health service.

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She also asked NHS bosses to draw up a 10-year plan for improvements to services. It is expected to be published to coincide with the Government’s autumn budget.

As part of the 10-year plan, high-profile figures from the NHS and voluntary sector organisations were selected by Ian Dalton, Chief Executive of the health regulator NHS Improvement, and Simon Stevens, boss of NHS England.

Those selected include Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of NHS England, Sarah-Jane Marsh, boss of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and Rob Webster, who leads the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “They were personally selected by Ian Dalton and Simon Stevens because of their experience and expertise.”

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NHS England said the plan involves drawing up “workstreams” which include technology, research, efficiency and tackling health inequalities.

The spokesperson added: “The workstreams are bringing together clinical leaders, senior NHS managers, the voluntary sector and the voice of service users, along with other stakeholders, to develop proposals that are deliverable, credible and will deliver real improvements for the population of England.”

The new NHS funding amounts to an average of 3.4 per cent per year for the next five years.

It has been criticised for falling short of the funding experts say is needed to help services meet growing demand.

A report by NHS Providers, which represents health trusts, said: “There is therefore a danger that the plan over-commits the service to new ambitions that can’t be afforded or delivered.”