NHS staff and healthcare professionals can access new platform to shape NHS’ 10-year health plan

Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and experts, have been invited to share their experiences, views, and ideas to help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

People can do this 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 UK Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which will be published in spring 2025 and will be underlined by three big shifts in healthcare, including 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. 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.

By moving from sickness to prevention, the 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 smartwatches and other wearable technologies 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 took 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.”

The NHS says investment alone will not be enough to tackle the problems it faces, which is why it must go hand in hand with fundamental reform.

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

The NHS says it is vital the government hears from patients, experts, and its workforce to make sure the government gets the plan right and preserves the things people value about the health service.