As the Government launches a consultation on its 10-year health plan, chief executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard urges health leaders to share their ideas
You do not need Lord Ara Darzi to tell you that NHS staff are treating record numbers of patients while dealing with a surge in multiple long-term illnesses and increasingly complex cases – despite being hampered by ageing equipment and crumbling buildings.
Far too many NHS leaders are navigating these daily challenges, all the while needing to recover services from the long-lasting effects of a once-in-a-century pandemic.
You also do not need Lord Darzi to tell you that as a result, too many of our patients are waiting far too long for the care they need.
As NHS leaders, tackling these challenges is key as we seek to deliver the best possible care for patients, while ensuring maximum value to taxpayers.
Yesterday’s launch of a consultation for the 10-year health plan provides us all with a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
Make no mistake, this aims to be the most ambitious blueprint for the NHS in a generation and is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.
Because as the Darzi review made clear, many of the solutions can be found in parts of the NHS today. But we need you to come forward with your collective know how and expertise to shine a light on what the real challenges and solutions are from your perspective.
Whether that is explaining the frustrations staff and patients experience each day or highlighting the frontline reforms you and your teams have implemented.
Because for the 10-year plan to work, it needs the entire NHS’ fingerprints all over it.
In response to an ageing population, we have seen real examples of innovation where NHS staff have begun solving problems and started to get better at preventing, diagnosing and treating serious illness sooner.
In Warwickshire, the local Fire Service assess the risk of slips and trips in a frail person’s home following a hospital admission for a fall – reducing the chance of it happening again.
While only last week, Somerset and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust announced a trial to introduce direct referrals for breast diagnostic clinics for women who find worrying lumps in their breasts – saving patients’ time and potentially their lives.
Ensuring creative solutions like these are part of the conversation on what the NHS’ future looks like is vital.
But the NHS cannot do it alone – for the public to fully benefit from this plan we need it to embed better heath across society, be that in schools, supermarkets or in the workplace.
That’s why we need to look further than how we interact with patients and health systems – this plan will seek to embed health across society, whether it’s mental wellbeing checks in schools and offices, cycling schemes, or health MOTs at work.
In just three years as CEO of NHS England, I’ve witnessed the introduction and rollout of virtual wards, allowing thousands of patients every day to recover from illness in the comfort of their home rather than in hospital. I’ve seen a father of four become the first person in the country to receive a personalised cancer vaccine. And we have been at the global vanguard of rolling out life-changing diabetes tech.
So, while the NHS may be facing real challenges today, ahead of what we know will likely be a very difficult winter, I am genuinely excited by its future, and what new innovations can be harnessed over the next decade as we seek to improve patient care.
If we all take responsibility for the 10-year health plan, I am sure we can create an NHS fit for the future.
So please go to Change.nhs.uk to find out how you can take part and make sure your voice is heard
