Government launches consultation as it seeks to reform NHS

The entire country is being called upon to share their experiences of the 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 online platform, Change.NHS.uk, which will be live until the start of next year, and available via the NHS App.  

The government has launched a public engagement exercise to reform the NHS (Image: UGC)

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 three big shifts in healthcare - hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. 

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.

Bradford Royal Infirmary (Image: Newsquest)

It will put patients in control of their own medical history, meaning they don’t 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 staffs’ 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.

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.

Primer Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: PA / Gareth Fuller)

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 firsthand 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.”   

The government says investment alone will be enough to tackle the problems facing the NHS, why is why it must go hand in hand with fundamental reform.

The three big shifts will be key principles for reform and will revolutionise the way people manage their health and access care.

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.

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “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.

“They are often hampered by working in crumbling buildings with outdated tech, meaning too many patients are waiting too long for care they need.

“So, 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.”