Call to Action Leeds: Join the debate on the future of the NHS

On By leeds11

 

People in South Leeds are being urged to join the national debate about the future of the National Health Service.

nhsDid you know:

  • Around 80 per cent of deaths from major diseases, such as cancer, are attributable to lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, excess alcohol and poor diet
  • One quarter of the population (just over 15 million people)  has a long term condition such as diabetes, depression, dementia and high blood pressure – and they account for fifty per cent of all GP appointments and seventy per cent of days in a hospital bed
  • We are living longer – life expectancy has increased by 4 years over the last 20 years, but the difference between richer and poorer areas is  now17 years.
  • The population of Leeds is expected to increase by about 12% in the next ten years.

People in Leeds are being encouraged to have their say on the future of the NHS by taking part in an honest and open debate called Call to Action. The local campaign is being led by the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Leeds including NHS Leeds South and East CCG.

Call to Action Leeds is part of a national debate to make sure that the NHS is ready to face the challenges of tightening budgets, an ageing population and an increase in demand for services

There are a number of ways for local people to get involved including a drop in event at Leeds City Museum on Wednesday 27 November between 10:30am-12:30pm or 1:30pm-3:30pm.  Members of the public can meet senior managers and commissioners from all three clinical commissioning groups in Leeds as well as meeting representatives from NHS England the body responsible for the day to day management of the NHS and its £90 billion budget.

Local people can take part in this national debate about how health services can be best delivered now and in the years ahead. There are four key areas the NHS needs to focus on:

  • improving the quality of care that people receive;
  • meeting everyone’s healthcare needs;
  • maintaining financial sustainability and meeting the financial challenges ahead; and
  • building an excellent NHS now and for future generations.

As well as the drop-in event people can also take part in Call to Action Leeds by:

Speaking about the launch of the Call to Action Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England said:

“The NHS was set up to provide high quality care for patients, free at the point of need. The NHS has stayed true to this aim and to do so in the future, we must embrace new ways of working. The NHS, like every other healthcare provider in the world, is facing these challenges. Too often, the answers are to reduce the offer to patients or charge for services. That is not the ethos of the NHS and I am clear that our future must be about changing, not charging. To do so we must make bold, clinically-led changes to how NHS services are delivered over the next couple of years.

“We are facing demands, opportunities and investment unimaginable when the NHS was created in 1948. New data is available now to highlight where we get it right – and as importantly, where we get it wrong. We are setting all this out today – including the funding gap – to encourage the public and doctors and politicians to have an honest and realistic debate about how they want their local NHS to be shaped. With the new independence of NHS England and the establishment of GP-led commissioners, we can find local answers to meet these challenges.”

More information on the drop-in event and the Call to Action debate can be found on the NHS Leeds South and East CCG website: www.leedssouthandeastccg.nhs.uk