The new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, visited a General Practice in Camden for his first official visit.
Alongside NHS England Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, the health secretary visited Abbey Medical Centre yesterday, where he met with staff and patients to hear from them about the challenges and the lessons from their successes in caring for patients.
Using the visit to announce his commitment to boosting funding for primary care, he said: “My first visit as health secretary was to a GP practice because when we said we want to shift the focus of the NHS out of hospitals and into the community, we meant it.”
NCL ICB Phill Wells, acting Chief Executive of the North Central London Integrated Care Board, also joined the visit, saying: “We were delighted to welcome Wes Streeting at one of our local practices for his first visit as the new Secretary of State. It was a great opportunity to highlight the important work of general practice, but also the critical roles of other members of the team, including physiotherapists, pharmacists, nurses and physician associates – who deliver vital care and expertise.
I know he could see the hard work and dedication of colleagues and we also discussed, with staff, and with patients, some of the wider challenges, both within the NHS and the wider community, which we are all committed to tackling. Improving the health of our local population is at the heart of our work, so it was very positive to hear the Secretary of State and Amanda Pritchard talking about the huge contribution of primary and community care in helping people to live well, stay well and age well, reducing serious illness, managing long term conditions, and keeping them out of hospital.
I’d like to thank all the team at the practice for their time and their continued commitment to their patients.”