It’s been a week since the Labour Party formed a government after the UK general election. Before MPs begin their summer recess at the end of July, the incoming Labour government is poised to quickly establish its agenda.
This month I’ll be sharing what the incoming government will do across a range of policy areas relevant to occupational therapy in a series of weekly blogs.
First up, let’s look at some of Labour’s priorities in government, including getting waiting lists down, primary and community care and hospital discharge.
NHS waiting lists
One of Labour’s most prominent and ambitious promises on health is to clear the NHS waiting list in the next five years. To do this, 40,000 new weekly appointments will be delivered by encouraging staff to work overtime at enhanced rates on evening and weekends. Thousands more GPs will be recruited, funded by taxing those with non-domiciled status. The move hasn’t been without criticism with many NHS staff – including OTs – already working overtime and experiencing burnout.
Primary and Community Care
While targeted investments will be made to clear waiting lists. Labour doesn’t view spending as the solution to all the health service’s problems. The government will focus on reform and innovation to get the most out of every penny spent. As newly appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, put it before the election ‘every pound spent will come with reform’.
It was telling that Wes Streeting MP chose to visit a GP surgery as one of his first official visits. This is part of his pitch to reform the NHS to deliver more services within local communities, emphasizing prevention over late diagnosis and treatment. This includes putting a greater proportion of NHS funding to out-of-hospital care by the end of Labour's first term, aligning closely with our vision for the occupational therapy workforce.
Labour will also free up pressure on GPs by training thousands more doctors and granting more independent prescribing rights to pharmacists. Neighbourhood Health Centres will be trialled, bringing together various health workers under one roof. This will give us an opportunity to call for more OTs in GP surgeries and for them to have more prescribing rights.
Social care and hospital discharge
While Labour aims to establish a National Care Service eventually, first term plans focus on national standards for care and an improved NHS-social care partnership. This approach includes directing NHS funds to local government to enable more effective hospital discharge and reduce the number of patients occupying hospital beds unnecessarily.
Immediate plans also include a fair pay agreement to improve conditions and pay for social care staff. This will come alongside an Employment Rights Bill, which is likely to be introduced in the coming weeks. We’ve been involved in work on the intermediate care plan and will be encouraging the new government to continue with this work. We’re also supporting principal OTs in adult social care to engage with incoming ministers.
Workforce
Labour will publish regular, independent workforce planning, across health and social care. It has also committed to delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which estimates a 3.4-3.6% growth in occupational therapists by 2036/37. As part of our Workforce Strategy, we’re modelling where the OT workforce exists across each nation, and whether this is sufficient to meet the demands of a rising population.
The potential changes under a Labour government present both opportunities and challenges for occupational therapists. We’ll be writing to incoming Ministers highlighting the key role occupational therapists can play in solving some of the key challenges facing the country.
More to come next week
Next week I’ll explore what the Labour government may introduce in our other priority areas, including digital and tech and children and young people.