Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future

Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has launched a consultation on the 10 Year Health Plan – Change NHS. Writing to local Council Chief Executive's today, he said:

Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future

We all know there are big challenges facing local government and the NHS, and that we can only achieve our Health Mission by working in lockstep with local government colleagues. Our next steps to reform the NHS must be co-designed with communities and local government, and that is why today we are launching Change NHS: A health service fit for the future: a national conversation to develop the 10-Year Health Plan. 

On 12 September, Lord Darzi published his independent review of the NHS, which was intended to start an open and honest conversation about the state of our health and service and the reforms needed. The review revealed the scale of the challenge we face. Our NHS is under rising pressure; we are diagnosing ill health too late and not doing enough to prevent it in the first place. It is too hard for people to get an appointment, hospitals are overcrowded, NHS workers are overstretched, and costs are escalating. 

For decades, there has been broad consensus that to overcome the challenges facing the NHS, we must focus on providing more care in the community, so hospitals are able to treat the sickest patients, make better use of technology, and do more to prevent ill health. 

A different approach is needed if we are to make these crucial shifts and deliver an NHS fit for the future. So, today we are launching a national engagement exercise to develop the 10 Year Health Plan. We want the public and staff to be at the centre of reimagining the NHS, as well as experts from across the health and care landscape, like you. The changes we make must be felt in all our day-to-day lives. 

Over the coming months, I want to hear from you to help co-design this Plan. I am committed to providing unprecedented levels of transparency to the policy making process and targeting those whose voices often go unheard. There is a particularly important role for councils as we aim to deliver the three big shifts set out above. 

There is a national portal found at change.nhs.uk to share your experiences and ideas. There is also a QR code that we encourage you to share with your stakeholders so that they can feed in their experiences and views. 

There will be further opportunities for you and your staff to feed in your views, including a series of face-to-face all-day staff engagement events in the new year across each of the seven regions. We will shortly write out to umbrella organisations (the Care Provider Alliance and LGA) asking for help in nominating participants to attend, as well as through regional directors. Our hope is that these attract a broad representation from across different staff types, care settings and communities, reflecting the diversity of our workforce. We recognise that it is difficult to release staff through this very busy period and are very grateful for your support. 

We also want to draw on existing local engagement so that the plan is truly co-produced. In November, we will provide you with a ‘workshop in a box’ for you to run your own events with the public, staff and stakeholders. This will include a template to capture and share insights back with us to inform the Plan. 

More information on this will be available at a webinar for Council Chief Executives in November, which you will receive an invite for soon. This is a once in a generation opportunity to set the NHS on a path for the future. 

Thank you in advance for your support in shaping the future of healthcare.