The NHS Alliance responds to First Point of Contact report

Responding to the First Point of Contact report by Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group, the NHS Alliance's director of primary care, community and neighbourhood health, Ruth Rankine, said:

"To build a true neighbourhood health service, we have to start by strengthening its 'front door' in primary care.

"To do this we must ensure that the primary landscape is connected and that the skills and capacity that already exist across these services are fully harnessed.

"The imbalance in the NHS funding model must also be addressed if we genuinely want to prevent ill health, reduce inequalities and keep people well and out of hospital.

"This report sets out a route to achieving that – through better investment, workforce planning, integrated commissioning and a stronger voice for primary care. This is a sentiment echoed by NHS Alliance members across general practice, community pharmacy, dentistry and optometry."