Category: Health

  • Richard Foord – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    Richard Foord – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    The speech made by Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, in Westminster Hall on 16 June 2026.

    It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for providing us with this opportunity to talk about community hospitals. In particular, I pay tribute to the fantastic NHS staff who work across Devon. They pull off an incredible level of service in spite of the constraints they are working under.

    In my constituency, we have five community hospitals across Axminster, Honiton, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth. Years ago, they all provided in-patient beds, minor injuries units and rehabilitation services, acting as halfway houses after discharge from the acute hospital, which for us was the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, and before home. They also provided support after operations, cared for the elderly and freed up beds in the RD&E and other acute hospitals.

    Today, much of that capacity has been stripped away. Of those five community hospitals, only Sidmouth retains in-patient beds—and a mere 25 at that. For a region of 150,000 people dealing with constant discharge pressure from Exeter, that is plainly insufficient. Honiton is the only one of the five that still has a minor injuries unit. I wrote to the new interim cluster chief exec for NHS Cornwall and NHS Devon two months ago to demand assurance that our community assets and services would remain safe from closures; it concerns me that, two months later, I have not had a reply.

    I ask Members to imagine being an elderly resident in Axminster faced with a medical emergency. A constituent who came to see me at a surgery in Axminster was dreadfully worried about the discharge of her husband from the acute hospital, the RD&E, because she was so frail and elderly that she felt unable to look after her frail and elderly husband. Apart from anything else, she was absolutely distraught with worry about not being able to look after him. The nearest major hospital from Axminster is an hour away at Exeter, and the journey there through the countryside is not just inconvenient for people at that stage of life; it is unmanageable.

    In preparation for this debate, I spoke with the president of the Community Hospitals Association, Dr David Seamark. David is not only president of the CHA but a constituent and a GP based in Honiton. He told me that community hospitals were designed precisely to face down these sorts of challenges. Community hospitals are embedded in rural and coastal areas, which is particularly good for older and more vulnerable populations. Across the UK, there are around 500 community hospitals, and many of them are located in these sorts of places, outside of cities and where access to centralised care is far more difficult.

    This is not the stuff of romance. These are not leftover legacies from a bygone era, and they are not historical; they are well placed assets for this era. They are adaptable, thanks to their autonomy, and they are capable of delivering wide-ranging, complex medical services. Our east Devon hospitals perform X-rays, surgeries and diagnostics. Despite losing their in-patient beds 10 years ago, they remain vital hubs of care for the local community.

    We have seen proposals to close wings and services, and even to demolish facilities, as was the case in Seaton, where the local community understood what was at stake. It was impressive to hear about the petition that my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds put together, which so many people signed in support of her community hospital. In Seaton, more than 9,000 people signed a petition to retain the community hospital there, and we had a public meeting in Colyford where people queued out the door to show their support.

    These are cherished institutions, built on decades of trust and born from community investment. The chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, agreed when he spoke at the Community Hospitals Association’s annual conference last month. He echoed the words from his 2023 annual report, “Health in an Ageing Society”, which is well worth going back to, and said that ageing and the resulting increased frailty were key issues for the future of UK healthcare. He argued that community hospitals are in just the right places to be on the frontline and tackle this issue for generations to come in our rural and coastal communities, and described community hospitals as

    “an essential part of provision for both inpatient and outpatient care for many citizens in England and the wider UK.”

    That clashes with the Government’s insistence that centralisation and the creation of large neighbourhood health centres will deliver progress and better outcomes. Neighbourhood health hubs are being exposed as a contradiction in terms. They misunderstand both geography and demography: geography, because they do not fit rural and coastal areas and suck resources into the nearby conurbations, and demography because, if the challenge facing our health service is an ageing population, solutions must be about proximity, accessibility and the continuity of care.

    The choice is plain for all to see: do we continue down this path of centralisation—closing, cutting and consolidating—or do we build on what we already have and cherish? When Seaton hospital was built in the 1980s, people were told that they should be a brick and buy a brick. We need to build on that legacy. Community hospitals should not be sidelined; they should be strengthened. They should be the backbone of genuine neighbourhood healthcare, not displaced by some remote health hub that, in an Orwellian turn of phrase, is moved further away and deemed to be a “neighbourhood health hub”. If the Government are serious about delivering care closer to home, supporting our ageing population and relieving pressure on our hospitals, they must invest in, not abandon, our community hospitals.

  • Katrina Murray – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    Katrina Murray – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    The speech made by Katrina Murray, the Labour MP for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, in Westminster Hall on 16 June 2026.

    I commend the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for securing this debate and for giving me the opportunity to talk about my experiences of the benefits and challenges of community and cottage hospitals. I do so in the knowledge that healthcare in Scotland is devolved and so is not under the purview of my hon. Friend the Minister.

    Prior to my election to this place, I spent nearly 23 years working with volunteers in the health services in Lanarkshire, a job that was highly pressured, but also highly rewarding. An absolute highlight of my day or week was visiting the volunteers in either Kello hospital in Biggar, in the constituency of the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), or Kilsyth Victoria Memorial cottage hospital, in my constituency. This debate is timely, because it was in the day room at Kilsyth Victoria that I heard the horrific news of the murder of Jo Cox, 10 years ago today. Attempting to stay professional and encourage two new teenaged volunteers to have conversations with patients while trying to digest what I saw on the large screen less than 10 feet away will stay with me forever. I send my love to Jo’s family today.

    Like many cottage hospitals, Kilsyth Victoria dates from before the NHS was created. In our case, the hospital was created by the local miners as a miners’ hospital in 1903; the part of the hospital that can be seen from the road dates back to that time. The main patient areas are within a more modern extension—I say “more modern”, but it is still older than me. The hospital now comprises a day room, a dining room where all patient who are able can have meals together, and a range of two-bedded and four-bedded bays, as was standard at a time when patients were not used to the space or the individual and ensuite rooms that are considered the norm and expectation today. The minor injuries unit disappeared in the days before covid, and the physiotherapy and out-patient clinics have been moved to the health centre.

    In the brief time that I have, I want to talk about how the benefits of hospital services in the heart of communities, which are often remote from big district general hospitals, are outweighed by the considerable challenges that they face. As times have changed, our expectations of healthcare have changed. When I started working at Kilsyth cottage hospital, the patients were all registered with Kilsyth general practitioners. It was unusual for patients not to be from Kilsyth; if they were not, they were from the neighbouring villages, Croy, Queenzieburn or Banton. The GPs knew the patients, and they provided medical care for the hospital. The staff were all generally local people themselves. Patients were admitted for intermediate, respite and end-of-life care.

    My experience is that where hospitals have closed, it is because GP cover has been withdrawn. The GPs in Kilsyth still provide the medical care, but in reality it is nurse-led care, with medical cover on the end of a telephone line or a video call, and which presumes good technological connections in a former mining village.

    Do not get me wrong: I am a big fan of nurse-led care. Registered nurses who work in community hospitals are highly skilled in the types of care that these patients need. It is heavy work, as patients need a lot of physical care, but it can also be isolating. On a night shift, there might be only one registered nurse in the hospital, which means no break on a 12-hour shift and, with many of these hospitals are miles away from assistance, they might not be able to get help from a registered nurse on another ward.

    Patients are more likely to have a dementia diagnosis than 20 years ago, which means that the type of care provided has changed. It was in these hospitals that I learned how important it is to look at a patient’s feet: if they were wearing slippers, it probably meant that they were not meant to have their hat, coat and handbag and be on their way out of the door. Even having barriers with entrance codes did not manage to stop people, because they were all from the village, so they knew what the codes were—they did not forget those.

    It can be difficult to recruit staff, who often have to travel long distances, because there is a lack of understanding of how rewarding it is to work in a cottage hospital in the middle of the community. However, what these hospitals provide is the epitome of care in the community. For those who are unable to look after themselves in their own home and who might be thinking about what it means to go into long-stay care or to move into a care home, community hospitals provide that transitional step. They are much more than buildings; they meet a need at a difficult time in people’s lives, and they are absolutely vital.

  • Roz Savage – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    Roz Savage – 2026 Speech on Community Hospitals

    The speech made by Roz Savage, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Cotswolds, in Westminster Hall on 16 June 2026.

    I beg to move,

    That this House has considered community hospitals.

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy, and I am grateful to have secured this debate. I want to begin by thanking Jo Posnette and Dr Helen Tucker from the Community Hospitals Association, who have been an enormous help in preparing for the debate. I welcome Jo, who is in the Gallery.

    Last year, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, around 15,860 patients died in NHS A&E departments in England while waiting for care that could have saved them. That is roughly 1,300 people every month—nearly 10 times the figure recorded in 2015. Every week, more than 300 people died a preventable death simply because they waited too long. Those numbers are shocking, but behind every number there is a real-life tragedy. Let us remember that human aspect throughout the debate.

    I am sure I do not need to point out to colleagues that in rural areas the situation is often even more challenging. The ambulance takes longer to reach people, the journey to A&E is longer and, when services at a community hospital have been reduced to a limited number, as is currently happening in my constituency, there might be no early safety net to catch the patient before a crisis becomes a catastrophe.

    Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)

    I thank my hon. Friend for her passionate speech about community hospitals. In my constituency we have a fantastic community hospital with a minor injuries unit, but the unit is open only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with reduced hours. It could treat thousands more patients each year. Does my hon. Friend agree that opening minor injuries units for extended hours would help to relieve pressure on A&E departments in acute hospitals?

    Dr Savage

    My hon. Friend makes a good point. Not everybody can time their minor injuries to fall conveniently within the unit’s opening hours, so I absolutely sympathise with the challenge facing her local hospital.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    I commend the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. I apologise to her and to you, Sir Jeremy, for not being able to stay; unfortunately, I have to be somewhere at 10 o’clock that is about 10 miles away. Like the hon. Lady, I wish to shine a light on the quiet heroes of our health service: our community hospitals. Places like Ards community hospital in my constituency are not just buildings but the bedrock of local care. They are the vital bridge between the high-tech intensity of a major acute hospital and the sanctuary of a patient’s own home. I support the hon. Lady in making the case for community hospitals, because my community hospital does all the things she wants community hospitals to do across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

    Dr Savage

    I thank the hon. Gentleman for his perceptive intervention. Community hospitals often do feel more like a home from home. They are more accessible for a patient’s friends and family to visit, and they deliver better outcomes for patients and clinicians alike.

    In the south-west, ambulance handovers at acute hospitals took more than 30 minutes in more than half of cases in January 2025—nearly 30% above the England average. A few months ago, I had the privilege to ride in an ambulance for a day. In what ended up being a 13-hour shift we attended only three call-outs. Maybe it was a quiet day—I am definitely not saying I wish there had been more grief out there—but we spent much of the day on the road and/or waiting outside hospitals, which did not seem the best use of a highly qualified ambulance crew and an expensive resource.

    It will not be news to anybody in this room that our NHS is under pressure, yet, against the odds, community hospitals continue to perform. The Care Quality Commission reports that between 75% and 92% of community hospitals are rated good or outstanding, which is remarkable given that the number of district nurses working in them fell by around 55% between 2009 and 2024, with underinvestment and the loss of EU staff after Brexit cited as key causes.

    John Milne (Horsham) (LD)

    I recently met the chief executive officer of the newly combined Surrey and Sussex integrated care board, and urged her to consider the potential for expanding Horsham community hospital on Hurst Road into a neighbourhood hub, including a women’s health unit, to mitigate the lack of a general hospital in the area. Sadly, her first task has been to reduce her staff by more than half. Does my hon. Friend wonder, like me, what happened to the extra £29 billion that the Government invested into the NHS? It does not seem to have got anywhere near Horsham.

    Dr Savage

    That is a very good question that I hope the Minister will be able to answer. I pay tribute to the absolute heroism of the people who staff our community hospitals; they are delivering an incredible return on investment.

    Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)

    I have had loads of emails from staff who were worried that Crewkerne community hospital was shutting down, because the communication from local NHS leaders has not been good enough—a problem we also had with the maternity unit. Does my hon. Friend agree that communication from NHS leaders needs to be a lot better?

    Dr Savage

    I absolutely agree that a lot of the frustration felt on the frontline is due to lack of clarity of communication. Community hospitals are institutions, and I pay tribute to the people who work at them, who do more with less, year after year. They deserve better than for services to be quietly wound down.

    I invite Members to imagine for a moment that they are 80 years old—it is less of a feat of imagination for some of us than for others—and living in a village outside Cirencester. Maybe they can no longer drive due to poor eyesight. They wake up one morning with chest pain. There is a hospital in town, but the services have dwindled one by one: no A&E, acute ward or surgery, and the theatre may be currently paused. What is actually needed—prompt assessment, a bed close to home and blood tests that do not require a 25-mile journey to Cheltenham on rural roads—may not be available. That is the reality for many people across my constituency right now, and it is getting worse.

    Community hospitals have been an honoured part of our healthcare system for over 150 years. Research published in the Journal of Community Nursing in 2024 describes them as bridging

    “the gap between primary and secondary care.”

    They are person-centred, nurse-led and multidisciplinary settings that help people to recover, maintain independence and enjoy visits from friends and family. They are not a quaint historical relic; they are precisely what the NHS says it wants more of.

    The Cirencester community hospital was exactly that kind of place. Since the day surgery unit was suspended last year, I have heard so many moving stories from constituents, their fond memories of being in hospital, and how much that hospital, right at the heart of their community, meant to them when their children, parents or spouses were sick. But over the years the services there have been eroded one by one: first A&E, then acute wards, paediatrics, maternity and blood services. In 2025, the day surgery unit was paused as part of NHS Gloucestershire’s centres of excellence trial. Each change came with reassurances, but each one left residents further from care. My constituents have become deeply and rightly sceptical that a trial closure will ever be reversed.

    Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)

    The hon. Lady is making a powerful point about trust and promises being made but not delivered. Twenty years ago, Littlehampton hospital in my constituency closed, with the promise that a replacement health service would follow. In Rustington, there has been a lack of consultation and the hospital has closed; we are hoping it will reopen. Does the hon. Lady agree that consultation, trust and following through on promises are so important?

    Dr Savage

    I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady’s point. I have been pressing the NHS to find out the criteria by which they will judge the trial closure, but the criteria have not been forthcoming. I am concerned that there is a circular logic: “Well, you’ve managed without that ward for six months or a year, so you can continue to manage without it.”

    A constituent described a cardiac arrest at Cirencester, handled with what she called “absolute skill and excellence” by a team of senior staff working together to stabilise the patient before transfer to an acute hospital. She told me that the nursing care on the wards is excellent, and that patients nearing the end of their lives are cared for with compassion and great dignity. That is what we are talking about when we talk about community hospitals, and that is what the trial closure of a ward potentially puts at risk.

    Another constituent—a former GP who started practicing in Cirencester 40 years ago, in 1986—told me about a child who, after the surgical ward closed, waited 20 hours in Cheltenham for an appendix operation. Previously, that operation could have been done in Cirencester much more quickly. That is a family sitting in a corridor in an unfamiliar hospital at 2 in the morning, feeling anxious and far from home, because the local service they relied on had gone.

    A month or so ago I launched a petition, in collaboration with a local county councillor, to protect community hospitals across the Cotswolds. Within a couple of weeks, well over 3,000 people had signed it, and last week we handed it in at No. 10. The South Cotswolds population is growing rapidly, largely due to the Government’s housing targets. Thousands of new houses are being built around Cirencester, and there are plans for many more housing developments that will swallow up nearby villages. It does not make mathematical sense for communities to grow while the services that support them shrink. The numbers just do not add up.

    NHS bodies often describe these changes as reconfigurations—a shift in how care is delivered rather than a reduction in what is available. For a rural resident with no car and negligible public transport, a 25-mile journey to Cheltenham is a significant barrier to care. The Government’s own 10-year plan talks about “neighbourhood health” and care “closer to home”, but Gloucestershire is heading in the direct opposite direction. I would like to hear from the Minister how those two things can be reconciled.

    A few miles to the north-west of my constituency, post-natal beds at Stroud maternity hospital were suspended in 2022. That year, the Care Quality Commission rated Gloucestershire’s maternity services as inadequate—a rating they retained on reinspection the following year. The hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher), who is a GP, has made the valid point that post-natal care saves money downstream because it is the time when mothers and babies bond, when breastfeeding is established and when families who need extra support get it on a timely basis. If we lose that support, the costs will appear elsewhere later on. Will the Minister provide a timeline, with dates, for the full restoration of maternity services in Gloucestershire, including the Aveta ward in Cheltenham, which is currently closed for labour and births? Will she provide details of the specific workforce support the Government are providing to make that happen?

    In other countries, the decline of community hospitals is not seen as inevitable. Other countries are under the same pressures, but they are making different choices. In Sweden, research found that rural GPs value community hospitals because they provide exactly the things that cannot be replicated in a large acute centre, including proximity, continuity and a holistic understanding of elderly patients and others with multiple conditions. Heart failure and pneumonia rehabilitation can be managed closer to home by staff who know the patient and their family.

    In Italy, the Government have committed to building or renovating 400 community hospitals using European recovery funds, backed by research from the Emilia-Romagna region showing that they deliver better integration among care sectors, between primary and specialist staff, and between healthcare and the communities it serves. Last October, more than 150 people from 23 countries joined an international webinar co-hosted by the Community Hospitals Association, and the conclusion was consistent: community hospitals anchor care in local communities, support home-based care and help people to live better for longer.

    The Government’s NHS 10-year plan commits to shifting care from hospital to community. That sounds like a very good idea, but a Nuffield Trust report published in September 2025 makes a point that needs to be heard: this ambition is not new. Successive Governments have promised to move care closer to home, and most have fallen short, almost always because the community infrastructure needed to enable the shift is simply not there, and nor is the investment. Ireland, which has pursued reform for nearly a decade, had the wisdom to invest up front in new facilities, digital systems and community workforce capacity.

    Unfortunately, the Nuffield Trust found that England’s 10-year plan contains no equivalent ringfenced funding. The expectation appears to be that hospitals cut waiting lists and simultaneously release funds to build community capacity. Again, the maths just does not work.

    The starting point is already challenging. More than 1.1 million people are currently waiting for community care in England, with the steepest rise among children and young people. A hospital where the theatre has been paused cannot absorb more community care. A maternity unit closed for three years cannot deliver neighbourhood health. A community health system with 1.1 million people already waiting cannot become the landing ground for patients displaced from acute settings unless it is properly resourced to do so. As so often, rural areas pay the highest price when the gap between ambition and delivery opens up. There is no slack in the system and no easily accessible option down the road.

    Manuela Perteghella

    My hon. Friend is very generous to give way again. In my Stratford-on-Avon constituency, the Ellen Badger community hospital in Shipston-on-Stour served the community for hundreds of years. The Coventry and Warwickshire integrated care board removed the in-patient beds, which were really important in rehabilitating and looking after patients from acute settings before they went home. Those beds were close to their home. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government must invest in care in community hospitals to relieve the pressure on acute settings?

    Dr Savage

    I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend’s point. We need a more joined-up approach. From conversations that I have had with nurses in my constituency, I know that those on the pointy end can see very clearly where the bottlenecks in the system are. We need to relieve the pressure on those bottlenecks.

    I will conclude with five asks for the Minister. First, will the Government give a clear commitment to protect and properly resource Cirencester hospital as a local health hub, with the operating theatre restored, not paused indefinitely while the trial closure quietly becomes permanent?

    Secondly, will the Government give a timeline, with dates, for the full restoration of maternity services in Gloucestershire, including post-natal provision at Stroud?

    Thirdly, will the Government give an honest account of how the shift from hospital to community will actually be delivered in rural areas? What oversight will there be? What protections are in place? What prevents the same pattern of managed reduction from continuing in the name of the 10-year plan?

    Fourthly, will the Government commit to work with the Community Hospitals Association towards a national definition and dataset for community hospitals in England, so that our 500 community hospitals can finally be planned for, funded and properly valued?

    Finally, will the Minister agree to a meeting? I would very much welcome the opportunity to sit down with her, alongside local NHS leaders and the Community Hospitals Association, to discuss the long-term future of Cirencester hospital, its role and resourcing, and its place in the vision of care closer to home, which this Government say they believe in.

    My constituents are not asking for anything exceptional. They just want to know that, if they get ill, there is somewhere to go that they can get to. The NHS was founded on that promise, and that promise must be kept.

  • Sarah Owen – 2026 Comments on Delayed Response from Department of Health and Social Care

    Sarah Owen – 2026 Comments on Delayed Response from Department of Health and Social Care

    The comments made by Sarah Owen, the Labour MP for Luton North, in the House of Commons on 16 June 2026.

    On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In February, the Women and Equalities Committee concluded an inquiry into the health impacts of breast implants and harmful cosmetic procedures. We sent our report to the Department of Health and Social Care on 18 February, expecting a response by 18 April. Four months on from sending that report, the official response is now two months overdue. We are still waiting on the Government.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I seek your guidance on what we can do to address this grave delay, which is a significant disrespect not only to my Committee members and the House of Commons staff who worked on the report but to the victims of harmful cosmetic procedures—people like Sasha who nearly died and who gave brave, vulnerable testimony publicly only to be ignored by the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministers.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2026 Statement on Meningitis B

    Sharon Hodgson – 2026 Statement on Meningitis B

    The statement made by Sharon Hodgson, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 15 June 2026.

    Today, I am announcing a meningococcal group B immunisation programme to protect those at highest immediate risk of MenB disease this autumn.

    Meningococcal disease is a serious but uncommon illness caused by meningococcal bacteria. It can lead to meningitis—inflammation of the lining of the brain—and sepsis. Meningococcal disease is life-threatening and can result in life-changing disabilities such as amputations, hearing loss, and brain damage. It is fatal in around 10% of cases. There are multiple strains of meningococcal bacteria, including MenA, MenB, MenC, MenW, and MenY. The NHS already offers the MenB vaccine to infants and the MenACWY vaccine to adolescents and young adults.

    Earlier this year, we saw the fastest growing and largest MenB outbreak ever seen in the UK in Kent and there have been more MenB clusters than normal this year, some of which have been larger than normal. There is therefore significant uncertainty about the level of risk MenB poses this year, with it being plausible that the bacteria are now more likely to cause disease. I have asked the department to undertake further work to better understand whether the clinical risk has changed.

    During the outbreak earlier this year, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which provides expert independent advice on our vaccination programmes, was asked to re-examine eligibility for the MenB vaccination programme. As we await full JCVI assessment, I have decided to offer vaccination as a one-off, targeted programme to the group at highest immediate risk from MenB this autumn. In line with the JCVI’s assessment of the relative priority, I have made this decision now to ensure that vaccination will be available from July to mitigate risk from the start of the new academic year in September.

    People currently in the year 13 age group in England and Wales—those born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008—will be eligible for vaccination. All people within this date of birth range will receive this offer irrespective of their education plans. Comparable approaches will be taken in Northern Ireland and Scotland for their equivalent school years, year 14 and S6 respectively.

    People under 25 years of age attending higher education or living at some residential further education settings for the first time in the 2026-2027 academic year will also be eligible for vaccination. Based on the available data, the UK Health Security Agency estimated that the relative risk of invasive MenB disease in first-year university students is substantially greater than in their peers. Postgraduates or those starting a second—or later—year will not be covered by this offer, as we are prioritising those at highest immediate risk this autumn. I am encouraging international students who are coming to the UK to study to have at least a first dose before travelling to the UK to ensure both doses can be received before the expected peak of disease in October and November.

    MenB vaccination protects only the recipient. The MenB vaccine is highly effective: vaccine effectiveness is estimated to be between 85% to 95%. MenB outbreaks will still occur, but vaccination will better protect those at the highest immediate risk.

    The JCVI is updating its assessment of the appropriate eligibility for routine MenB vaccination, which will be provided to Ministers in due course. I will consider that advice before making any longer-term decisions regarding MenB vaccination.

    Two doses of the MenB vaccination are required for protection. Further information on how to access the vaccine will be published in the coming weeks. I strongly encourage eligible people to come forward from late July to receive both doses before the new academic year. The offer will be available across all four UK nations.

  • James Murray – 2026 Speech at NHS ConfedExpo

    James Murray – 2026 Speech at NHS ConfedExpo

    The speech made by James Murray, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 11 June 2026.

    I am really pleased to be here so soon after being made Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

    Today, in fact, is exactly four weeks since the Prime Minister called me and asked me to take on this role.

    And I can tell you that, from the moment that phone call with the Prime Minister ended, my head – and my heart – have been filled with thoughts and feelings of how important a role this is and how much I want to do.

    I have spent the last four weeks meeting as many people as possible – patients, staff, outside experts.

    I have been taking finely balanced decisions with all the sensitivity they deserve.

    And I have been reading reams and reams of policy papers and briefing packs from front to back.

    As my advisers will tell you, I like getting my head under the bonnet.

    And one reason for that is that I want to understand the challenges you are facing inside and out so that we can work together to move things forward.

    In all the previous roles I have held in public office – whether as a council cabinet member, as a deputy mayor in London, or as a minister at the Treasury – I have learned that the most effective way to deliver is to work openly and collectively with all members of the teams I have led.

    And it is in that same spirit that I have joined this team of 1.5 million people, who work in the NHS, and the 1.5 million more, who work in social care.

    I want our workforce to feel valued and rewarded, where they come in for every shift with a sense of purpose and go home from every shift with a sense of achievement.

    Because as political leaders we can set the direction of travel.

    But it is only by working with leaders throughout the system, and those on the frontline, that we will see our commitments to the people we serve become a reality.

    And I want to thank you for everything that you and your teams, clinicians and non-clinicians alike, have done over the past two years:

    We have moved toward our 18-week electives improvement target; delivered 1.8 million dental appointments; offered online requests for GP appointments; cut waiting lists by more than 400,000; getting ambulance response times and four-hour waits in A&E down; and improving productivity across the health system.

    I am especially pleased, with my former Treasury hat on, that these achievements have been possible with us living within our means for the first time in nearly a decade.

    I know that you have been under considerable pressure to meet the ambitious targets that we have set you, to do it while keeping on top of the finances, and to do it in the face of strikes, an early flu spike, supply chain challenges, disease outbreaks and record demand.

    And I don’t want to diminish how tough the organisational changes have been on you and your colleagues, especially those in my department, in NHS England and in ICBs.

    I think it is easy to forget in talk of headcount and savings that what we mean are people’s jobs and livelihoods – and however necessary the changes are, that is certainly not lost on me.

    But some people doubted our ability to make the progress we promised, and you are all proving them wrong.

    You have risen to the challenge.

    And the public are beginning to feel the improvements that you are making – whether that is on waiting times, urgent and emergency care, ambulance response times, or GP access.

    It is no surprise that we have seen the biggest drop in dissatisfaction with the NHS since 1998 – and the first increase in satisfaction since before the pandemic.

    And whilst we know there is a long road ahead, we have shown that by working together we can drive and deliver real and impressive progress.

    For me to come into this role on the back of that growing sense of optimism and momentum, is a real gift.

    My promise to you, is that I will work with you day and night to realise the opportunity that gives us to go further.

    Now, in pursuing that goal, I do not want to waste a second.

    Too often in the past, a change of Health Secretary has come with a change of priorities.

    As a result, the service gets flooded with messages of what they need to focus on next, and progress gets delayed.

    The lesson of the last two years for me is that you are at your best, and you are able to deliver fastest, when the message from the top is clear.

    And so let me say clearly that the focus and targets of this government on electives, UEC, and access to GPs and dentists remain.

    The Medium-Term Planning Framework remains.

    And the 10 Year Plan remains.

    The level of improvement required across the system in future years cannot be achieved through performance management alone.

    What we have done in the first two years, on the back of record investment, is to make improvements while starting to modernise the NHS.

    And now that we have stabilised the system, my job is to work with you not only to maintain and extend those improvements in performance, but also to put our feet to the floor on reform.

    What I am bringing to this role is not a change of course but a change of gear.

    I am determined that we accelerate our fundamental transformation and modernisation of the NHS by making sure that we make the fullest possible use of technology, digitisation and AI.

    I know what benefits this can bring.

    When I was responsible for tax collection at the Treasury – that made me popular I put HMRC on course to conduct 90% of interactions digitally by 2030.

    And with more and more people able to meet their day-to-day tax needs through digital self-service, HMRC is now freeing resources that can help resolve the most complex cases that need a human eye.

    AI tools are now being used to support evidence in criminal investigations, and voice recognition technology is being used to speed up taxpayers accessing support and to helping to write call logs to save on the costs of admin.

    But one important barrier that we knew we had to overcome at HMRC – one that I recognise from many years in public service – is the risk aversion that too often limits innovation.

    Too often the question is, ‘What if it goes wrong?’ – and of course that is an entirely legitimate question to ask, especially in health and social care where we are talking about profound consequences.

    But I think we also need to balance that question by giving equal weight to another important question, ‘What if we don’t do this and leave things the same?’

    I want you to have the confidence that I will back you in using new technology to improve the experiences and outcomes of patients.

    I believe people expect their public services to be as easy and convenient to use as they get from the private sector – and it is our job to make that a reality.

    Now I know that when challenging targets loom large and near on the road ahead, reform and modernisation can get pushed further from view.

    Modernisation is seen as a promise for tomorrow, rather than a way of tackling the challenges of today.

    And let me be clear that the challenges of today are very real.

    All of us in this room know that for all the progress that we’ve made, things still aren’t good enough for far too many people in far too many parts of the country.

    As we meet here, there will be someone who can’t get through to their GP to make an appointment, someone off work and in pain who has been waiting too long for treatment, someone in crisis who can’t get the support they need, and someone stuck in a bed in the humiliating and undignified surroundings of a corridor.

    But the NHS cannot simply manage its way out of the current pressures.

    It must transform its way out of them.

    The simple truth is that the NHS will only become sustainable in the long term if it changes the way care is delivered.

    The choice is not between reform and recovery; the task is to use reform to accelerate recovery.

    And you are showing us the way.

    The community wellness team in South Cumbria that cut emergency admissions by two thirds, did so by identifying a small group of high need patients responsible for a disproportionate share of hospital bed days – they are demonstrating how creating neighbourhood services will reduce the demand on A&E not just a decade from now but over the next few years.

    Likewise, the eTriage tool being used by Royal Berkshire and others to reduce the number of face-to-face appointments, shows that new technology will not just improve the speed and convenience for outpatients a decade from now but, again, will do so over the next few years.

    The Health and Growth Accelerator pilots to boost people’s health and get them back to work show how preventing sickness will improve the nation’s physical and economic health not just a decade from now but over the next few years.

    In the same way that investment and modernisation are two sides of the same coin, delivery and reform are not separate agendas.

    In fact, as the targets become more and more ambitious, it will be nigh on impossible to meet them if the system stays the way it is currently working.

    Tomorrow must come to the aid of today.

    And so I want to make sure that, at the centre, we use the modernisation and reform agenda to step up delivery straight away, and at the same time create new ways of working that give you the platform to innovate and drive improvement locally.

    We have already made a start on that with the NHS Modernisation Bill, the changes we are making to ICBs, and the creation of Advanced Foundation Trusts and Integrated Healthcare Organisations.

    I do not want to tie your hands in red tape.

    I want you to be free to innovate, to be creative and to get on with what works, because I know that delivery does not happen from behind a desk in Whitehall.

    Indeed, more often than not the system is way ahead of us.

    North East Ambulance Service now delivers the fastest response times across all six national standards and is reducing pressure on emergency departments by increasing ‘hear and treat’ rates and improving handover times.

    Princess Alexandra Hospital has significantly reduced elective waiting times by, among other things, expanding diagnostic capacity, introducing an ‘advice and refer’ model, and working with patients and primary care to redesign pathways.

    These are the kinds of enterprising initiatives that are going to make the NHS better for patients, better for staff, and better for taxpayers.

    I very much hope to see more of them and to make sure we help spread them and embed them throughout the system.

    The real challenge is not choosing between short-term performance and long-term sustainability but ensuring that each reinforces the other.

    Now, we all know the NHS matters deeply to people right across our country, because of how deeply it touches all of our lives.

    For my part, the NHS came to my rescue when I was diagnosed 18 years ago with a serious and rare neurological condition that threatened my ability to run, to write, and to talk.

    It is only thanks to the support of the NHS that I am able to stand here today, as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

    The NHS gave me a second chance at life – and I will fight for it every single day with the strength that it has given me back.

    And I need your help to do that.

    I want to work with you to implement the 10 Year Plan.

    To quicken the pace of reform by embracing technology, digitisation and AI.

    To innovate and take the right risks – and to know that, as you do so, I will be by your side.

    We are going in the right direction and we must not ease our foot off the pedal for a second.

    I am looking forward to working with you very much, and I cannot wait to see what we can achieve together.

    Thank you.

  • James Murray – 2026 Comments on Measles

    James Murray – 2026 Comments on Measles

    The comments made by James Murray, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 11 June 2026.

    My thoughts are with the families who have suffered such unimaginable loss. These deaths are a heartbreaking reminder that measles is not a harmless childhood illness. 

    Measles can lead to serious complications that can be fatal, and the MMR vaccine, which has saved countless lives, remains the best protection we have against this highly infectious disease. 

    I urge all parents and carers to check that their children are up to date with their vaccinations as it is never too late to catch up – even if you miss a dose. By ensuring our children are vaccinated, we not only protect them but also help safeguard the most vulnerable in our communities.

  • James Murray – 2026 Comments on the Single Patient Record

    James Murray – 2026 Comments on the Single Patient Record

    The comments made by James Murray, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 1 June 2026.

    When I was in my 20s I was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition. I am now symptom-free and I get fantastic support from the NHS. But I know how much effort it can be to keep different parts of the health service joined up, and how distressing it is for some patients to repeat their medical history over and over.

    That’s why our Single Patient Record is so important. It sits at the heart of our NHS Modernisation Bill will end this once and for all – making care safer while saving clinicians’ time.

    My priority as Health Secretary is to modernise the NHS and make it work better for patients. This is our 10 Year Health Plan in action — making the NHS fit for the future by building it around patients’ lives, not the other way round.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on Doctor Strikes

    Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on Doctor Strikes

    The comments made by Kemi Badenoch on 28 May 2026.

    If the Conservatives were in power, these strikes simply wouldn’t be happening.

    That’s because we’ll add doctors to the list of professions banned from striking. Just like police officers and members of the Armed Forces.

    Our health should never be held ransom by unions.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2026 Comments on Sick Notes

    Stephen Kinnock – 2026 Comments on Sick Notes

    The comments made by Stephen Kinnock, the Minister of State for Care, on 20 May 2026.

    Ever since I was appointed Minister of State for Care in July 2024, NHS staff have been telling me that the current fit note system isn’t working – not for patients, and not for the clinicians who sign them off.

    These pilots mark the beginning of the end for that broken system, giving people personalised support to get back into work and freeing up GPs from unnecessary admin so they can focus on what they do best: caring for their patients.

    This is what our 10 Year Health Plan is all about – earlier support, from the right people, in the right place.