Developing the long term plan for the NHS

Overview

The NHS is one of Britain's greatest achievements and for 70 years its dedicated staff has been there for us.

A lot has changed since it was created in 1948, and today the NHS is responding to changes in society that were never expected, let alone planned for.

The Government has announced additional funding for the NHS and this means we can plan to make the NHS fit for the future for patients, their families and our staff.

The NHS Long Term Plan will make sure the NHS has a bright future ahead of it. We know that families work hard to pay their taxes and that's why we will make sure every penny is invested on the things that that matter most, from providing high quality lifesaving treatment and care for our patients and their families, to reducing pressure on our hard working NHS staff and investing in exciting new technologies.

Helping develop the plan

As part of the process of developing the plan, we have sought to ensure that all those who benefit from and work in or alongside the NHS have the opportunity to contribute their ideas, experiences and insights.

Our online call for views which ran from August 24th to September 30th 2018, allowed members of the public, front-line NHS staff and the organisations that represent them to inform our policy development. More than 2,000 submissions were received through this portal from individuals and from groups representing the views of 3.5 million people; thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a response.

In addition to our online call for views, working groups, made up of local and national NHS leaders, clinical experts and patient representatives, have been working with relevant stakeholders on specific parts of the plan. Throughout September these working groups have organised or attended over 150 meetings across the country, and received hundreds of submissions which have helped them draw up draft policy proposals for inclusion in the plan.

What happens next?

The engagement already done by these groups will continue to help as their policy proposals are refined and brought together over the course of October and November.

Further engagement will carry on during this time, meaning that individuals and organisations representing NHS staff, patients and the public will continue to have the opportunity to influence the final plan up to its publication. This includes meetings to which leaders from every local hospital trust and Clinical Commissioning Group have been invited, to ensure that ideas and ambitions being considered are achievable.

Publication of the long term plan is currently expected towards the end of November or early December; however, this will be not be the end of our engagement around it.

From December to the summer of 2019, staff, patients, the public and anyone who is interested in the work we do will have the opportunity to help your local NHS organisations determine what the plan means for their area, and how best the ambitions it sets out can be met.