Simon Stevens has said NHS England is committed to its priorities laid out in the Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View, regardless of the outcome of next month’s general election.
Speaking yesterday at the King’s Fund's annual summit on leadership and management about the document released in March, Mr Stevens said there is ‘no version of reality’ without stronger primary care, mental health services, and integrated health and social care.
Simon Stevens has said NHS England is committed to its priorities laid out in the Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View, regardless of the outcome of next month’s general election.
Speaking yesterday at the King’s Fund's annual summit on leadership and management about the document released in March, Mr Stevens said there is ‘no version of reality’ without stronger primary care, mental health services, and integrated health and social care.
He said: ‘It's also pretty clear that the core operational priorities that the NHS set out in the next steps document are the right things for us to be working on over the year ahead.
‘There is no version of reality where we don't need stronger primary care. There's no version of reality where we don't need more expansive and resilient mental health services. There's no version of reality where we don't need better health and social care integration.’
Mr Stevens highlighted the upturn in primary care investment since NHS England took on commissioning responsibility for general practice, adding that NHS England is ‘committed to continuing to improve that situation, linked to the changes in the GP Forward View’.
While Mr Stevens said he was restricted in what he could commit to ahead of the election, he said NHS England has a ‘clear point of view’ about what needs to be done in the next two years, including improving the workforce agenda, working on capital and infrastructure and ‘mobilising’ the efficiency agenda.
He said: ‘So I think 17/18 is going to be a sleeves rolled up year, a year when there's going to be a lot of change happening across the country and – within the constraints of what I can say today – I look forward to working with you on it.’
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