Plans to cut the number of emergency hospital admissions by enabling people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma, to better manage their own care were announced by the health secretary, John Reid, today.

The government will set up a network of specialist primary care teams to provide a more personal and joined up approach to managing chronic conditions, the minister told the Guardian conference in Birmingham.

"Demonstrator sites", in every strategic health authority, will work to refocus the NHS on three priorities: self care support, to help patients manage their condition; diseases management, with medical and social care teams providing a joined up service; and case management, to identify "at risk" patients and ensure they receive all the services they require.

Mr Reid said the new strategy had been developed in partnership with the US healthcare organisation Kaiser Permanente Evercare, which has been working with primary care trusts (PCTs) to cut costs and improve patient satisfaction through better management of chronic disease.

"Chronic disease has a huge impact on quality of life...and it consumes a large proportion of health and social care resources," Mr Reid told delegates at the conference Managing New Realities: Integrating the Care Landscape.

"There is already a lot happening both locally and nationally to introduce better chronic disease managements, but I firmly believe this needs to spread."

PCTs could employ nurses and doctors specialising in diabetes and asthma care, so that patients with chronic conditions can be managed in the community rather than having to go into hospital.

Mr Reid said the rising incidents of chronic disease was the greatest challenge facing the NHS. There are currently 17.5 million people with chronic conditions in the UK.

The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2030 the incidents of chronic diseases in the over 65s will have doubled.

The minister said the NHS could not meet this challenge simply by increasing capacity.

Mr Reid said: "I believe we need to radically change what [care] we deliver and how we deliver it. The goal of an effective health system must be to reduce the number of people going in to hospital."

Mr Reid said about 3% of at risk older people accounted for 35% of unplanned hospital admissions, mainly because of a lack of contact with community services.

Many of the unplanned admissions were due to problems such as dehydration or urinary tract infection, which could have been prevented by early intervention, he added.