• Grahame Morris MP welcomes government funding to upgrade Seaham Primary Care Centre 
• As one of first 27 areas to receive investment, Seaham Primary Care Centre will be at the forefront of Government drive to bring patient care closer to home
• Moving care from hospital to community is better for patients and will ease pressure on local hospitals 

Easington MP Grahame Morris has welcomed the announcement which means an upgrade to Seaham Primary Care Centre. The investment means Seaham is at the forefront of the government’s drive to shift healthcare from hospitals to communities.  

At the 2025 Budget, the Labour government committed to build and upgrade hundreds of new Neighbourhood Health Centres to bring health services closer to communities. This means patients will be treated closer to their home through a new neighbourhood health service.  

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring teams together to dramatically improve access to the NHS, free up overstrained hospitals and deliver the best, most cutting-edge and personalised care.  

The centres will be part of a new Neighbourhood Health Service that will provide end-to-end care and tailored support – improving access to GPs, helping to prevent complications and avoid the frustration of being passed around the system.  

With Labour inheriting record long NHS waiting lists nationally, Mr Morris has welcomed the new approach and the decision to invest in Seaham. 

Across the country, the Labour government has already made significant progress to get the NHS back on its feet. Waiting lists are falling, down by 374,000 since Labour came to power, and the lowest for around three years. 

Grahame Morris MP, said: 

“Upgrading Seaham Primary Care Centre and singling it out to be in the first wave of Neighbourhood Health Centres will deliver real improvements for local patients and is a huge vote of confidence in local staff.  

“When the government announced the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild fund I was determined Seaham should be at the front of the queue. The Labour government has made great strides in cutting NHS waiting lists across the country, to get patients seen faster but we have to modernise the way our NHS delivers care if we are to get the NHS back on its feet.  

“Too many people are passed from GP to hospital for checks and treatments which can be delivered closer to home. This investment will help create the space to deliver more services in Seaham Primary Care Centre. But the fact staff in Seaham have been recognised as ready and willing to make the shift to a neighbourhood model of care is just as significant.  

“I’m really proud that NHS staff in Seaham have been recognised as pioneers in this way.”