Strensall ward Councillor and Chair of City of York Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee has made the following statement to coincide with the publication today of the Humber, Coast and Vale Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP):-
Councillor Doughty said, “For too many years we have heard the talk of transformation and integration only to see vast sums wasted on failed exercises, dogmatic refusal to change and an unwillingness to confront the financial cost this then brings. I am pleased with the new sense of leadership being shown by NHS England and give a cautious welcome to today’s publication of the Humber Coast and Vale Sustainability and Transformation Plan.
Despite the politically charged accusations of ‘secretive plans to privatise the NHS’ used by some not prepared to meet our future challenges, the focus should be clear. It should be less about maintaining lots of separate organisations and more about making sure our efforts are better coordinated for maximum impact on health quality and efficiency. The priorities outlined in the plan are ones I hear about regularly from people I talk to: Getting help to stay well, being able to get help close to home and making sure a hospital stay is of the highest quality. I am particularly pleased to see local priorities for mental health, an area we were seriously let down in York - and for cancer, two areas of health care that affect so many of our lives.
I very much look forward to the public debate, consultation and engagement that should now follow from Health partners to turn these ambitions into a new reality we will all benefit from. Along with colleagues in other areas, City of York Council will be playing a key role in the design and delivery of our future healthcare and I will ensure the Heath Scrutiny Committee robustly examines, tests and challenges any proposals that will affect us.”