The long-awaited NHS 10-year plan has finally been unveiled by the Government. Under the new plans, millions of patients will be treated closer to home with a new network of neighbourhood health hubs. The aim will be to shift care out of hospitals and into the community.
The launch of a Neighbourhood Health Service will see pioneering teams, some based entirely under one roof, set up in local communities across the country, to dramatically improve access to the NHS.
The Government says that these neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services on people’s doorsteps – stopping them from having to make lengthy trip to hospitals.
Neighbourhood teams will include staff like nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, palliative care staff, and paramedics. Community health workers and volunteers will play a pivotal role in these teams, and local areas will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door – to detect early signs of illness and reduce pressure on GPs and A&E.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it. But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future. That ends now. Because it’s reform or die. Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.
"That means giving everyone access to GPs, nurses, and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood - rebalancing our health system so that it fits around patients’ lives, not the other way round. This is not an overnight fix, but our Plan for Change is already turning the tide on years of decline with over four million extra appointments, 1,900 more GPs and waiting lists at their lowest level for two years. But there’s more to come. This government is giving patients easier, quicker and more convenient care, wherever they live."
The PM set out how the plan will deliver three key shifts to get the NHS back on its feet: hospital to community; analogue to digital; and sickness to prevention. Built around these three principles, the reforms within the plan aim to deliver the Government’s promise to stop rising waiting lists, deliver more convenient care, and tackle inequalities across the country.
New health centres will house the neighbourhood teams, which will eventually be open 12 hours a day, six days a week within local communities. They will not only bring historically hospital-based services into the community - diagnostics, post-operative care, and rehab - but will also offer services like debt advice, employment support and stop smoking or weight management, all of which will help tackle issues which affect people’s health.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: "Our 10-Year Health Plan will turn the NHS on its head, delivering one of the most fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history. By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated. This Government’s Plan for Change is creating an NHS truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home."
The status quo of ‘hospital by default’ will end, with a new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digital-by-default, in a patient’s home where possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary. This approach will make access to healthcare more convenient for patients and easier to fit around their day to day lives, rather than disrupting people’s work and personal lives.
The Government also said that thousands more GPs will be trained under the 10-Year Health Plan, in "a bid to lay the groundwork to bring back the family doctor, end the 8am scramble and make it easier to see your GP when you need to instead of having to turn to A&E."
The government’s plan will also aim to bring the NHS into the digital age, making sure staff benefit from the advantages and efficiencies available from new technology. This includes rolling out groundbreaking new tools over the next two years to support GPs. AI scribes will end the need for clinical notetaking, letter drafting, and manual data entry to free up clinicians’ time to focus on treating patients. The Government says that saving just 90 seconds on each GP appointment can save the same time as adding 2,000 more doctors into general practice.
The Government will also use digital telephony so all phone calls to GP practices are answered quickly. For those who need it, they will get a digital or telephone consultation the same day they request it.
Some practices are struggling to keep up with an ageing population and 21st century health needs. New contracts will be introduced which encourage and allow practices to cover a wider geographical area. It means smaller practices in the catchment area will get more support to ensure the right access is in place so that everyone can access their GP when they need to.
Under the 10-Year Plan, there will also be a focus on prevention measures, which will include:
- Harnessing recent breakthroughs in weight loss medication and expanding access through the NHS.
- Encouraging citizens to play their part, including through a new health reward scheme to incentivise healthier choices.
- Tackling harmful alcohol consumption by introducing new standards for alcohol labelling.
- Expanding mental health support teams in schools and colleges and provide additional support for children and young people’s mental health through Young Futures Hubs.
- Increasing uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among young people who have left school, to support the aim of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040.
- Creating a new genomics population health service, accessible to all, by the end of the decade. The Government pledges to implement universal newborn genomic testing and population-based polygenic risk scoring alongside other emerging diagnostic tools, enabling early identification and intervention for individuals at high risk of developing common diseases.
Commenting on the plan, Sir James Mackey, Chief Executive, NHS England, said: "The Neighbourhood Health Service is a huge opportunity for us to transform how we deliver care over the next decade – starting right on people’s doorsteps. By bringing together a full range of clinicians as one team, we can deliver care that’s more accessible, convenient and better for patients, as well as reducing pressures on hospitals."
Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "This is a vital step towards a more preventative, community-based NHS. Bringing care closer to people’s homes through blended neighbourhood health teams recognises the complex and interconnected challenges many patients face, and it is the right direction for both improving outcomes and alleviating pressure on hospitals.
"In many areas of the country, general practices working at scale through primary care networks and GP Federations, are already partnering alongside other organisations to deliver joined up care. It will be important to build on these positive successes. Delivering on this ambition will require sustained investment in digital and estates, support for the NHS’s workforce, and a commitment to decentralise national control by empowering local leaders to do what is best for their populations. On behalf of our members, we are eager to work with the government to help turn this bold vision into lasting change."
Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, added: "The broad ambitions of the 10-year health plan – strengthening primary and community services, boosting prevention and harnessing new technology to help make it happen – are the right direction for the NHS. The NHS is not broken but – in the words of Lord Darzi – it is in a critical condition. The public overwhelmingly supports the NHS model – a universal, comprehensive, tax-funded system that is free at the point of use. So we welcome the scale of the government’s ambition and commitment to sustaining the NHS for decades to come.
"However, these ambitions have appeared in NHS plans for decades, so the question now is whether they will be backed up by the concrete policy changes and investment needed to turn them from rhetoric to reality. A clear delivery plan backed up by the right leadership and support will be needed. Otherwise, the critical benefits of AI and technology may not be realised.
"While we await the detail, the risk is that it is a plan for the NHS rather than a plan for health. To tackle the UK’s stalling health and for the NHS to remain sustainable, a comprehensive cross-government strategy is needed for rebuilding the nation’s health – for instance, through tacking poverty and strengthening public health. Just such an approach was promised in the government’s health mission but this is currently missing in action.
"There is also a risk that the plan is derailed by yet another reorganisation of NHS structures. Evidence shows that these reorganisations cause huge disruption and rarely deliver the benefits politicians expect, so the risk is that valuable time, effort and resources are diverted from improving patient care. Given funding for the NHS and other public services is so constrained, this is a distraction that the health service and patients could do without.
"We welcome the focus on developing a neighbourhood health service. This could offer more convenient services tailored to people’s needs. But history tells us that developing new models of care takes time and a stable policy environment. Even then, it is unlikely to deliver big cost savings. Bringing services together under one roof does not automatically mean people’s care will be better as a result – particularly when social care and other services in the community are under so much strain. Investment in modernising buildings and IT will be needed to make it happen, as well as support for staff to work together in new ways. Ultimately, politicians will need to stand behind their commitment to shifting how care is delivered. The danger is that the Prime Minister’s commitment to tackling hospital waiting lists trumps the more fundamental changes needed."
Rachel Power, Chief Executive, the Patients Association, commented: "We welcome this ambitious transformation set out in the 10-Year Health Plan that delivers on what we called for: integrated, accessible care that is centred on patients’ real lives. Having new neighbourhood health centres open 12 hours a day, six days a week with multidisciplinary teams and clinical and support services under one roof addresses the reality that health challenges don’t exist in isolation.
"We’re pleased to see the commitment to training thousands more GPs and look forward to a sustainable workforce strategy to support the delivery of these expanded services, along with clarity on how quickly these centres will be rolled out. We remain committed to ensuring genuine patient partnership underpins the design and delivery of these services, so they truly reflect what patients need in their local communities."
To view the 10-Year Plan, visit: Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England - executive summary - GOV.UK
