• Summit will focus on digital and technology innovation to help better care for patients and accelerate the work of cutting waiting lists – one of the government’s top 5 priorities.
• Ministers hold roundtable sessions on elective, urgent and urgent, primary and adult social care

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay will convene ministers, clinical leaders and health professionals for the next NHS Rehabilitation Summit today (June 6, 2023) to promote push plans to help cut waiting lists and improve patient care, during the 75th week of the NHS birthday.

Health and social care ministers will hold roundtable sessions on elective, primary, urgent and emergency and adult social care, bringing together NHS executives and leaders clinicians from around the country and experts from independent organizations and charities. This includes NHS England Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s Director of National Transformation, Dr Tim Ferris and Dr Amanda Doyle OBE, National Director of Community Services and Primary Care.

The day’s demonstrations will showcase how technology in the NHS is changing patient care and look at how to go further and faster in embracing new technology to improve access to services, as well such as increasing the use of NHS 111 and the NHS App to reduce pressure and improve choice for patients.

It follows the Prime Minister’s NHS Recovery Forum held in Downing Street on 7 January, which discussed a range of measures such as expanding virtual zones, using more pharmacies to ease pressure. force for general practice and more options for patient elective care, many of which have now been introduced across the health service spectrum.

Waiting times have fallen dramatically since the peak of winter pressure in December, and since then the NHS has announced its Urgent and Urgent Care Recovery Plan, Primary Care Recovery Plan and The NHS’s first Long Term Workforce Plan to help put the NHS in place. sustainable support.

Health and Social Care Minister Steve Barclay said:

The NHS is a national treasure and it is vital that we have the opportunity to look back at its achievements over the past 75 years, assess where we are now and work towards where we want to be in the future.

Today’s summit is about sustaining the recovery of health and social services, by bringing together key experts to share knowledge and deliver solutions to address key challenges facing the NHS and social care, from using innovative AI tools to maximizing the full potential of the NHS App for patients.

I am focused on improving care for patients through the use of technology to diagnose and treat patients faster – delivering on the government’s commitment to cut waiting lists.

Examples of technology being demonstrated include DERM AI, which is being used to assess skin lesions for cancer on the NHS. DERM has been shown to be 99.7% accurate in predicting noncancerous skin lesions. The number of people being referred for skin cancer screening is growing every year, with more than 600,000 being sent for skin cancer screening last year, up nearly 10% from the previous year. DERM can help triage more patients faster, which can ease the burden on clinicians and help people get the care they need sooner.

The government is investing in DERM and other technologies through the AI ​​Awards, with £123m invested in 86 technologies since 2020. Last month, the government also announced an additional fund worth £21 million to deploy the latest AI diagnostic tools across the NHS.

There will also be a demonstration of cutting-edge medical technology that can help the NHS improve care, such as Rezum – a minimally invasive procedure that uses steam to treat an enlarged prostate. relieve symptoms without overnight hospitalization because people can be treated as outpatients.

Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets will be used to showcase Hospital 2.0 designs, demonstrating what new, nationally designed hospitals of the future will look like as part of the Patient Program. Government New Institute. This includes a design that can adapt to a variety of locations, features an open and well-lit environment, single boarding bedrooms and staff rest spaces.

The NHS’s landmark long-term workforce plan will add hundreds of thousands of staff over the next 15 years, while modernizing and reforming the most radical workforce since the NHS was founded. in 1948.

Significant progress has been made on elective care, as the two-year wait has been virtually eliminated and the 18-month wait has been reduced by more than 91% from its September peak. 2021. Community diagnostic centers have become a key part of this effort, with 111 centers already opening nationwide and more than four million additional tests, exams and scans performed since May. 7 year 2021.

In May, the government also announced plans to empower patients to choose where they get their NHS care through the NHS App. Patients should be referred by their clinician to a choice of at least five providers, if clinically appropriate, with available information on waiting time, distance traveled, and quality to help them make choices. Research shows that giving patients choice can reduce wait times by up to 3 months by choosing another hospital in the same area.

As part of the Urgent and Urgent Care Recovery Plan, the NHS has rolled out 7,000 virtual hospital beds for adults and they will now be extended to tens of thousands of children across the country to allow them to be accommodated. comfortably treated. home.

The primary care rehabilitation plan includes £240m for operations across England. million pounds to embrace the latest technology to tackle the 8am fever and reduce the number of people having trouble contacting their GP, along with the introduction of the first Pharmaceuticals that will see Pharmacists treat patients with common conditions, as well as expand blood pressure and contraceptive services in pharmacies.

Work is also underway on community health and intermediate care services to improve social care this winter and beyond, supported by the Better Care Foundation – which includes 1, £6 billion in hospital discharge funding over the next two years to ensure patients can be discharged as soon as they’re ready.