NHS to meet targets

NHS targets will be met in 2006, the government has announced.

Plans to offer 625 new GP surgeries and health centres by the end of the year are said to be on track.

Targets include the building of new health centres that are meant to go further than standard GP surgeries by offering midwifery, dentistry, physiotherapy and other facilities under one roof.

Announcing the success at an NHS conference, health minister Lord Warner said that he was pleased to be meeting goals of a scheme with an “expansion rate that is quicker than Tesco”.

The NHS is already said to have met previous targets to refurbish or replace 3,000 GP premises and build 500 primary care centres, plus there are plans to build 750 centres by 2008.

Lord Warner explained that part of the reason for building these centres is to make local communities have easier access to services rather than have to receive them at hospitals.

With up to 125 new primary care centres set to open by the end of the year, Lord Warner says this marks the start of an “exponential” five-year growth in the provision of health services.

Other NHS targets announced to be on track in 2006 include the opening of a building per week along with the refurbishment of several hospitals and community hospitals.

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