Health secretary Steve Barclay says investment is helping fix the NHS as he meets frontline staff in Blackpool

The minister, who was born just down the road in Lytham, had a whistlestop tour on Thursday (January 19) that took in Blackpool Victoria Hospital, the town’s new ambulance station being built on Waterloo Road and the ARC rehabilitation centre at Mereside.

With NHS services under massive winter pressure and strike action adding to its troubles, many patients are facing delays to their treatment.

But Mr Barclay said initiatives which are seeing health and social staff working more closely together and the use of technology such as artificial intelligence are helping.

He said: “Over the Christmas period emergency departments were under significant pressure particularly due to the spike in flu cases.

“We had 100 times more patients in hospital with flu compared to the previous year, and that was a very quick increase because it went up seven times in the course of a month.”

He said his visit had enabled him to speak to frontline staff about that “and see the innovation that has been adopted” including by Remedy Healthcare which has set up a mobile endoscopy unit at Stanley Park sports centre.

It expects to treat 6,900 patients there over 14 months in a bid to shorten waiting lists.

Mr Barclay said: “Remedy Healthcare are using artificial intelligence which they say is leading to a 20 per cent increase in the types of cancer they can spot. That’s about getting treatment to people more quickly.”

At the ARC he met patients who had had falls and would have faced long stays in hospital, but the rehab centre was able to get them back home more quickly.

He said: “They are being helped to get home to more familiar surroundings.”

Delays in admitting patients at A&E at Blackpool Victoria Hospital at one time in November saw 14 ambulances queuing to hand over their patients.

But Mr Barclay said work he had seen to build a £7m new ambulance station would help ease that pressure.

He said: “One of the key things is when paramedics turn up to start their shift, the ambulance will be ready to be deployed straight away rather than them having to start their shift checking equipment and ensuring everything is on board.

“All that is done for them so the paramedics can focus on the paramedic side rather than making the ambulance ready.”

The minister was also shown work being done at the ARC on Clifton Avenue, which is a Blackpool Council facility with 33 beds where social care staff work alongside health staff.

It offers residential care to people who are ready to leave hospital but are not well enough to return to their own homes.

Physiotherapy and other support is provided with most patients staying in for around 28 days.

Blackpool has received almost £1.7m from the government’s social care discharge fund, which totals around £750m, to introduce measures to help discharge people safely from hospital.

Despite the added investment, Mr Barclay acknowledged pressures including strike action and the effects of the pandemic were still having an impact.

He said: “All health systems have been under pressure, not just here but across Europe and further afield.

“That is a reflection of the massive strain the pandemic has imposed.

“We recognised both from the pandemic, from flu, that this was always going to be an extremely tough winter and we said early on the system was going to be under massive pressure.”

While strikes by some NHS staff “don’t help”, the minister said he wanted to talk constructively with trade unions, and it was important to get inflation down to ease the cost of living pressures people are facing.

Deprivation is a key factor in poor health for many Blackpool residents, and Mr Barclay’s visit coincided with the announcement of £40m of Levelling Up money for a multiversity to be build in the town.

This is aimed at giving people the skills they need to find better jobs and improve their lives.

Mr Barclay said: “I think the fact you have got the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up and the Secretary of State for Health all in Lancashire and all focusing on Blackpool today, show the strength of commitment in government to Blackpool and Lancashire.”

He added he believed the new ways of working he had seen in Blackpool would help the NHS through the current tough times.

He said: “The staff themselves have told me today that changes that are being made, the additional funding we have announced combined with innovative ways of working are making a difference.

“The sort of innovation I have seen, such as Remedy Healthcare using artificial intelligence, that’s the sort of thing we need to see more of within both health and social care.”

Nick Henson, head of service for care and support at Blackpool Council, said the ARC played a vital role in helping to get people back home.

He said: “What this centre achieves is integration between health and social care and that is important in actively solving some of the problems we are experiencing across the sector.

"It’s about working together for the individual and providing the best wrap around care they need. The ARC brings the pieces of the jigsaw together to ensure the best outcome for the patient.”