Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer voices concern at impact of rapid homes developments on Peterborough health services

The Prime Minister has vowed the provision of extra health services will be a key feature of future housing development in Peterborough as concerns grow that more residents mean longer waits to access medical care.

Sir Keir Starmer’s comments come just days after Peterborough city councillors gave the go ahead for 1,500 homes to be built on the East of England Showground as housing construction takes place in the Hamptons and accommodation is developed in the city centre.

Local action group SPURR has claimed not enough attention has been given to residents’ concerns about proper provision of medical and dental services as part of the Showground development,

Speaking to the PT, Sir Keir said: “I do understand the frustration when people see the houses going up but don’t see the local GP surgery opening and they don’t see the local schools and nurseries opening at the same time.

"All three of those have to go together and that will be part of the way in which we roll out further housing so that we get the housing that people need and so they get on the housing ladder but it doesn’t impact local people who are waiting for their hospital appointment or whatever it may be.”

Mr Starmer was highlighting the Government’s new Elective Reform Plan, which seeks to cut hospital backlogs and ensure that millions of patients can access more appointments closer to home and get the treatment faster.

According to NHS England there were 76,729 patients waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust at the end of November last year.

Of those, 3,289 (four percent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The figures show just 68 percent of cancer patients urgently referred to Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals in November began treatment within two months of their referral.

The NHS states 85 percent of cancer patients with an urgent referral should start treatment within 62 days.

The Prime Minister said: “The problem is the waiting lists which are now 7.5 million people and which we are dealing with.

“There are a number of strands to it and which are important to Peterborough.

"The first is our plans for community diagnostic centres and we are opening them seven days a week for 12 hours a day and which should make a significant difference to people who need to have tests or scans.

He said: “We are also developing the NHS app which will make it easier for people to manage their information with the NHS and we are using technology and AI to cut the waiting lists.

“So far as Peterborough is concerned the community diagnostic centre is going to be opening later this year and it will be in Wellington Street and the reason for that is we want to put in close to where people are going to be with the opening hours better suited to whatever else they are doing and so they don’t have to take time off work.

"That is coming online later this year.

"And this will be an example of what we want to see elsewhere in the country."