The NHS England long term plan
NHS England has published its long-awaited long-term NHS plan, setting out the strategic objectives for the NHS over the next 10 years. This includes some important developments for the global Life Sciences community: Personalised care
- The NHS will ramp up support for people to manage their own health, starting with diabetes prevention and management, asthma and respiratory conditions, maternity/parent support and online therapies for mental health services
- There will be an accelerated roll out of personal health budgets and social prescribing will be widened
Integrated care systems (ICSs)
- ICSs will be developed everywhere, growing out of the current Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) network
- There will be streamlined commissioning arrangements, typically involving a single CCG for each ICS area (so CCGs will become leaner, more strategic organisations)
- Funding flows and contract reform will support the move to ICSs and there will be a new ICS accountability and performance framework
Cancer
- Over the next ten years, the NHS will routinely offer genomic testing to all people with cancer for whom it would be of clinical benefit, and expand participation in research
- The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme will be modernized to detect more cancers, earlier
- There will be a new faster diagnosis standard to ensure most patients receive a definitive diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days of referral from a GP or from screening
Research and Innovation
- During 2019, seriously ill children who are likely to have a rare genetic disorder, children with cancer, and adults suffering from certain rare conditions or specific cancers, will begin to be offered whole genome sequencing
- There will be a simpler, clearer system for MedTech and digital, so that proven and affordable innovations can reach patients faster, including a new MedTech funding mandate
- The current NHS England ‘Test Beds’ will be expanded through regional Test Bed Clusters from 2020/21
Article published 8 January 2019.
