By james art Billed as “the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS since its birth”, members of the public will be able to share their views online via change.NHS.uk until early next year.
The consultation is part of the Government’s plans to transform the NHS into a ‘neighborhood health service’, moving more care from hospitals to communities.
The plan, expected to be published in spring 2025, will also see greater use of data and technology, with easier sharing of patient data, saving an estimated 140,000 hours of staff time each year.
Announcing the consultation, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “My mother 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 patients who have been fighting 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 is 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 health system that puts patients first and delivers the care everyone deserves.”
“We have a huge opportunity to get the NHS back on its feet. So let’s be the generation that takes the NHS out of the worst crisis in its history and makes it fit for the future.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called on the public to “help us build health services fit for the future”, saying he wanted NHS staff and patients to have their “fingerprints all over” the 10-year plan.
He said: “When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer the NHS saved my life, as it has for so many people in our country. We all owe the NHS a debt of gratitude for a time in our lives when it was there for us when we needed it. Now we have a chance to pay off that debt.
“Today the NHS is going through the worst crisis in its history. But although the NHS is broken, it is not defeated. Together we can fix it.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said it was “vital” for the service to “innovate and adapt” as it faced an “unprecedented number of challenges”.
She said: “The 10-year health plan is a chance to make best practice, normal practice across the country.
“So we will be running the biggest staff engagement exercise in the history of the NHS and will leave no stone unturned as we seek to harness the views of the frontline, alongside those of patients and the public, to ensure that this will happened.
“It’s your experiences—good, bad, and sometimes frustrating—that we need to help shape this once-in-a-generation opportunity, so please get involved.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Government to show “ambition” in its plans or risk the consultation “turning into talk”.
He said: “We know that primary care services across the country are on the brink of collapse due to disgraceful neglect by the Conservative Party, with patients paying the price.
“Whether it’s huge GP waiting lists, endless ambulance response times or the failure to diagnose cancer on time, none of these problems can be solved without solving the crisis in social care.
“That’s why the Liberal Democrats will make sure social care is part of the debate and push for a cross-party solution to this crisis.”