Report finds ICSs should use new technology to help people monitor their conditions

A post-pandemic drive to help people stay well, greater use of technology to put power into the hands of patients, and treating people closer to home should be at the heart of NHS plans, according to an independent report.

In the report, entitled ‘the NHS Assembly says the health service faces significant workforce and estates challenges, but it should be “emboldened by the resolve and agility it showed during the pandemic.”

The NHS Assembly, an independent advisory group established in 2019, consulted staff, patient groups, carers, charities, and partners in health and social care for the report launched ahead of the 75th anniversary of the health service on 5 July 2023.

The report draws on the feedback of thousands of people who have contributed to a rapid process of engagement with patients, staff and partners. It aims to help the NHS, nationally and locally, plan how to respond to long-term opportunities and challenges. It sets out what is most valuable about the NHS, what most needs to change, and what is needed for the NHS to continue fulfilling its fundamental mission in a new context.

Analysis found that the NHS should now focus on three key areas: preventing poor health, creating more personalised care that better responds to patients’ views, and coordinated care closer to home, including by strengthening general practice.

The report summarises more than 700 responses from health organisations and patient groups who reveal extensive support for the NHS being free at the point of delivery and note its success at landing deals which give patients access to the latest treatments at a fair price.

The creation of integrated care systems (ICSs) allows the NHS to work with other bodies to find people at risk of conditions, such as heart disease, and tackle major causes of poor heath, including obesity and smoking.

ICSs should also use new technology to help people manage their health so they can monitor their conditions, receive advice remotely through virtual wards, and make appointments or change prescriptions via the NHS App, the report highlights.

Co-authored by Professor Dame Clare Gerada and Professor Sir Chris Ham, the analysis notes the demands on the health service are far greater now than when the NHS was founded with almost 3.5 million more people aged over 75 compared to 1948.

Professor Dame Clare Gerada, Co-Chair of the NHS Assembly, said: “This document gives permission to Integrated Care System to carry on the fantastic work they are already doing, and that means evolving primary and community care to deliver patient care closer to home.

“This visionary document based on the views of people across health and social care sets out three key aims for the sector – preventing people from getting ill, creating more personalised care and delivering this care closer to people’s home.”

Respondents to the engagement were immensely proud of NHS staff and its resilience but recognised the need to improve staff retention, reduce vacancies, and provide better support to unpaid carers and social care.

The report also noted that there was a greater need for prevention of ill health through wider societal change that falls outside of the NHS remit, with the NHS Assembly noting that 80 percent of health outcomes are determined by other factors such as incoming, housing, education and employment.

The report calls for capital investment and a long-term infrastructure plan to tackle backlog maintenance and modernise primary care, where a third of the estate was built before the NHS was founded.

The NHS Assembly document given to NHS England is an important contribution to help the NHS, nationally and locally, plan how to respond to long term opportunities and challenges

The NHS announced the NHS hospital at home service will expand to cover children in every region of England after successfully treating more than 6,400 children over the last year.