The Government has today (July 3) published its ’10 year plan’ for the NHS, aimed at improving the day-to-day functioning of the healthcare system over the next decade. Motivated by growing waiting lists and frustration over a lack of access to GP and NHS dental appointments, the plan sets out a radical list of aims for the NHS including improving the NHS app and increasing access to health services in the community.
Speaking at a health centre in East London earlier today, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “It’s all down to the foundation we laid this year, all down to the path of renewal that we chose, the decisions made by the Chancellor, by Rachel Reeves, which mean we can invest record amounts in the NHS. I’m not going to stand here and say everything is perfect now, we have a lot more work to do and we will do it.”
The Prime Minister was also joined in East London by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, in her first public appearance since being seen to cry during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (June 2).
The “Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England” sets out ‘three radical shifts’ to overhaul the NHS. The shifts, presented as the core components of the plan, aim to completely change the way care is delivered in the UK. Here’s what the ‘three radical shifts’ could mean for you.
1. From hospital to community
The first ‘radical shift’ outlined in the plan aims to move care away from being hospital-focused, instead delivering services in the community. Labour wants to prevent hospital backlogs by moving as much care as possible out of the hospital setting, instead delivering services:
- As ‘locally as possible’
- Digitally, rather than in person, by letter or over the phone by default
- In a patients’ home if possible, or
- In a Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC) when needed.
This part of the plan is aimed at preventing the ‘8am scramble’ for GP appointments by ensuring access to same-day appointments, having NHC’s open for 12 hours a day 6 days a week, and increasing the role of pharmacies. The plan also mentions improving access to NHS dentistry, by making NHS contracts more attractive to dental practices with specific incentives.
Furthermore, Labour want to bring down waiting lists by training more GPs and filling the NHS app with health advice to be used as a first port of call.
2. From analogue to digital
According to the plan, Labour is aiming to make the NHS the ‘most digitally accessible health system in the world’, with the NHS app providing patients with a ‘doctor in (their) pocket’. By 2028, the Government wants the NHS app to serve as the ‘full front door to the entire NHS’ giving patients the ability to:
- Get instant advice
- Choose providers based on quality data
- Book tests
- Have consultations
- Manage medicines and long-term conditions
- Manage care for children or loved ones
Patients will also be able to leave healthcare providers direct feedback on the care they receive in-app.
3. From sickness to prevention
Finally, the 10-year plan for the NHS aims to ‘narrow health inequalities’ by offering ‘instant access to help and appointments’. The goal is for NHS services to predict and prevent ill health, as opposed to just diagnosing and treating it. Labour plans to do this through a series of preventative measures and early interventions.
According to the paper, the Government wants to ‘raise the healthiest generation of children ever’ by:
- Preventing smoking and vaping with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will prevent the sale of tobacco to anyone turning 16 this year or younger. Vape advertising will also be banned
- Tackling obesity by restricting junk food advertising, banning high-caffeine energy drinks for under 16s, and rolling out new weight loss medication on the NHS for eligible patients
- Extending free school meals so that every child of an adult receiving Universal Credit can qualify
- Introducing a health reward scheme to incentivise healthy life choices
- Addressing harmful alcohol consumption with new standards for alcohol labelling
- Improved mental health support, with expanded teams in schools and colleges and through Young Futures Hubs
The Government also wants to increase its focus on early disease detection and prevention by rolling out more HPV vaccinations, rolling out lung cancer screening for anyone with a history of smoking, and creating a genomics population health service within the next 10 years. This would include offering genetic tests for newborns and for those at high risk of common diseases.
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