The failure to grow and invest in primary and community health and care services, despite successive governments’ commitment to this agenda, is one of the most significant and long-running policy failures of the past 30 years – The King’s Fund.
The panel – including Stephen Kinnock MP, Care Minister and Adam Sampson, Chief Executive, Association of Optometrists – will explore where we go from here and how we make care closer to home a reality.
The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the voice of the optical profession, representing over 80% of practising optometrists. We elevate the work of our members, and champion eye health across the UK.
Health reform is essential now: the NHS today cannot cope with the impact of a growing ageing population, and the rise in chronic diseases – and the situation is getting worse. Primary care is the front door to the NHS – but the pathways to deliver care, the investment and the infrastructure all prevent pharmacists, dentists, GPs, and optometrists from delivering a Neighbourhood Health Service – as per the Labour Manifesto. A primary care-first approach can mean a system that works for patients: efficient, convenient and accessible, digitised and community-based.
