A Ten Year Health Plan will be published in spring 2025 with three big shifts in healthcare – hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention.
As part of the first shift, ‘from hospital to community’, the Government said it aims to establish new neighbourhood health centres that are closer to homes. These centres will allow patients to access a range of services including family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, health visitors, and mental health specialists – all in one location.
In transforming the NHS from analogue to digital, the Government will create a more modern NHS by bringing together a single patient record. New laws are set to be introduced to make NHS patient health records available across all NHS trusts, GP surgeries and ambulance services in England – speeding up patient care, reducing repeat medical tests, and minimising medication errors.
By moving from sickness to prevention, the Government wants to shorten the amount of time people spend in ill health and prevent illnesses before it happens. The Health Plan will explore the opportunities smart watches and other wearable tech may offer patients with diabetes or high blood pressure, so they can monitor their own health from the comfort of their own home.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life, as it has for so many people across our country. We all owe the NHS a debt of gratitude for a moment in our lives when it was there for us, when we needed it. Now we have a chance to repay that debt.”
The Government said it is vital it hears from patients, experts and the NHS workforce to revolutionise the way people access healthcare. Responses will shape the Health Plan to fix what it describes as a broken health service and deliver the Government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future.
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “The Ten Year Health Plan is a chance to make the best practice, normal practice across the country. So, we will be carrying out the largest ever staff engagement exercise in NHS history and leaving no stone unturned as we seek to harness frontline views, alongside those of patients and the public, to ensure this happens.”
Rachel Power, Chief Executive of The Patients Association, said: “We warmly welcome this ambitious initiative to engage with patients, staff, and the public on the future of our NHS. For far too long, many patients have felt their voices weren’t fully heard in shaping health services. This national conversation, initiated by the Government, marks a significant step towards genuine patient partnership and puts patients at the heart of the NHS’s evolution.”
Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England, added: “We urge everyone to have their say on how the NHS should deliver better care to people where and when it is needed, more support to help people stay well, and a culture of listening to and acting on the views of patients.
“All too often, people face unequal access to care, with disabled people and those on lower incomes being particularly at risk. The NHS belongs to us all, so you must speak up and help create a health service that is fit for the future – equal and inclusive for everyone.”
- To share your own experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS, please visit the online platform nhs.uk, which will be live until the start of next year, and is also available via the NHS App.
