Millions of patients will be treated and cared for closer to their homes by new teams of health professionals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has set out the government’s ‘10 Year Health Plan’ which will deliver a brand-new era for the NHS, and make one of the most seismic shifts in care in the history of the health service.
The new plan incorporates:
- Neighbourhood Health Services to be rolled out across the country, bringing diagnostics, mental health, post-op, rehab, and nursing to people’s doorsteps.
- Neighbourhood health centres which will house services under one roof, open at evenings and weekends.
- The ‘Plan for Change’ will rebuild the NHS to train thousands more family doctors, transform hospital outpatient appointments, and provide personalised care plans for complex needs.
The rationale of the plan: improve access to the NHS
The Neighbourhood Health Service will see pioneering teams, some based entirely under one roof, set up in local communities across the England, to dramatically improve access to the NHS. As part of the government’s aim to shift care out of hospitals and into the community, they will free up overstrained hospitals from perpetual firefighting so they can focus on delivering only the best, most cutting-edge, and personalised care.
These neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services right 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.
In launching the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, the Prime Minister said that moving care from hospitals to the community is one of the three key shifts required to tackle the challenges within the NHS. This will make sure it is equipped to look after a modern society, and ensure people feel the change and improvements in healthcare that they voted for.
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.”
A preventative medicine principle
The plan follows Lord Darzi’s diagnosis of the challenges facing the NHS last year where he assessed it was in a ‘critical condition’ as a result of deep-rooted issues including low productivity, poor staff morale, a failure to keep up with new technology, rising waiting times, and a deterioration in the health of the nation.
The reforms within the 10 Year Health Plan will 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 we know 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.
Bringing back the family doctor
Thousands more GPs will be trained under the 10 Year Health Plan, as the Government lays 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 bring the NHS into the digital age, making sure staff benefit 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. 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.
As it stands, 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.
Dental care professionals to be part of the neighbourhood teams
The plan will also deliver on the government’s promise to tackle the current lottery of access to dentists. Dental care professionals will work as part of neighbourhood teams, where Dental therapists could undertake check-ups, treatment, and referrals, while dental nurses could give education and advice to parents or work with schools and community groups. The work therapists cannot do would be safely directed to dentists.
Under the plan, it will also be a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, intended to be 3 years.
Following the government’s work already to roll out supervised toothbrushing for kids, the plan will also improve access to dental care for children, making better use of the wider dental workforce, especially dental therapists, including through a new approach to upskilling professionals to work at the top of their clinical potential beginning in 2026 to 2027. This includes proposals to allow dental nurses to administer fluoride varnish for children in between check-ups, and the greater use of fissure sealants for children – covering back teeth with thin plastic coating to keep germs and food particles out the grooves.
The Plan for Change has begun
The government’s Plan for Change is already delivering action to cut waiting lists and fix the foundations of the NHS. Waiting lists are at their lowest level in two years, including the first drop in April for 17 years. An extra 4.2 million appointments have been delivered since July – over double the government’s target. 10 new surgical hubs have opened since January, and 1,900 more GPs have been recruited since October.
Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Gateshead South, said:
“The creation of the Neighbourhood Health Centres will be providing our constituents with more convenient and localised healthcare services, taking away the need for long trips to hospitals in order to be seen by a healthcare professional.
“This will ensure that quality healthcare is accessible to all and that it is available when needed, cutting the wait times that have been steadily increasing over the last 14 years.
“Labour created the NHS over 75 years ago with the intention of caring for the British public throughout their lives. The reform of the NHS is needed to ensure that it continuously works for all and provides the best care possible.”
As a result of this shift to community, hospitals will be able to focus on patients who need hospital care, and get them seen on time again.
This article is based on a media release from the office of Sharon Hodson MP.
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