Government Calls on Public to ‘Change NHS’
Change NHS, the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS since its birth, has been launched, as the entire country is called upon to share their experiences of our health service and help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and experts, will be invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS via the Change NHS online platform, which will be live until the start of next year, and available via the NHS App.
The public engagement exercise will help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan which will be published in spring 2025 and will be underlined by 3 big shifts in healthcare:
- hospital to community
- analogue to digital
- sickness to prevention
Plans to fix the NHS include neighbourhood health centres and improving the NHS App
As part of the first shift ‘from hospital to community’, the government wants to deliver plans for new neighbourhood health centres, which will be closer to homes and communities. Patients will be able to see family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, health visitors or mental health specialists, all under the same roof.
In transforming the NHS from analogue to digital, the government will create a more modern NHS by bringing together a single patient record, summarising patient health information, test results, and letters in one place, through the NHS App.
It will put patients in control of their own medical history, meaning they do not have to repeat it at every appointment, and that staff have the full picture of patients’ health. 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.
Systems will be able to share data more easily, saving NHS staff an estimated 140,000 hours of NHS staff’s time every year, because staff will have quicker access to patient data, saving time that can then be spent face-to-face with patients who need it most and potentially saving lives.
The emphasis is being placed on preventative healthcare
By moving from sickness to prevention, government wants to shorten the amount of time people spend in ill health and prevent illnesses before they happen. As an example, the 10 Year 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.
The launch of the new online platform will take place at a health centre in east London, where the Secretary of State will meet with the Chief Executive of the London Ambulance Service before the first engagement event involving NHS staff from across the healthcare system as a start to the national conversation.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “My mum worked for the NHS, my sister worked for the NHS and my wife still works for the NHS – so I know first-hand how difficult it has been for staff and for patients battling against a broken system for over a decade. But it’s time to roll up our sleeves and fix it.
“We have a clear plan to fix the health service, but it’s only right that we hear from the people who rely on the NHS every day to have their say and shape our plan as we deliver it. Together we can build a healthcare system that puts patients first and delivers the care that everyone deserves.
“We have a huge opportunity to put the NHS back on its feet. So, let’s be the generation that took the NHS from the worst crisis in its history and made it fit for the future.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting also commented: “Today the NHS is going through the worst crisis in its history. But while the NHS is broken, it’s not beaten. Together, we can fix it. Whether you use the NHS or work in it, you see first-hand what’s great, but also what isn’t working. We need your ideas to help turn the NHS around.
“In order to save the things we love about the NHS, we need to change it. Our 10 Year Health Plan will transform the NHS to make it fit for the future, and it will have patients’ and staff’s fingerprints all over it. I urge everyone to go to change.nhs.uk today and help us build a health service fit for the future.
“Investment alone won’t be enough to tackle the problems facing the NHS, which is why it must go hand in hand with fundamental reform.
“The 3 big shifts will be our key principles for reform and will revolutionise the way people manage their health and access care. Our reforms will also shift the NHS away from late diagnosis and treatment to a model where more services are delivered in local communities and illnesses are prevented in the first place.
“It is vital the government hears from patients, experts and the NHS workforce to make sure we get this right and preserve the things people value about the health service.”
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard added: “NHS staff are facing an unprecedented number of challenges – with record demand for care, alongside growing pressures from an ageing population, rising levels of multiple long-term illnesses and patients with more complex needs. And they are often hampered by working in crumbling buildings with outdated tech, meaning too many patients are waiting too long for care they need.
“It is vital the health service innovates and adapts – as it has always done throughout its 76-year history – to design and deliver an NHS fit for the future.
The 10 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.”
The start of this national conversation on the future of the NHS follows on from Lord Darzi’s independent report into the health service that diagnosed its condition. Lord Darzi concluded the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’ with surging waiting lists and a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health, identifying serious and widespread problems for people accessing services.
The launch of the engagement exercise for the 10 Year Health Plan will build on these findings and is the next step to delivering the government’s mission to fix the NHS and deliver a health service fit for the future.
