A new 10 year Health Plan for England has been launched by the Government, setting an ambitious new course to improve patient care, help people to live healthier lives, and make the NHS fit for the future.
The plan has been shaped by the experiences and expectations of members of the public, patients, partner organisations and the health and care workforce both here in Hertfordshire and west Essex, and across the country. It reflects the changes that people told us they wanted to see.
The plan aims to personalise care, give more power to patients, and ensure that the best of the NHS is available to all. It has three big areas of focus:
- making more care available in local neighbourhood settings rather than in big hospitals, with better dental care and quicker specialist referrals
- making it easier for people to live healthier lives, preventing ill health wherever possible
- using digital technology to enable seamless healthcare experiences, with a unified patient record and specialist referrals via the NHS app.
The ambitions of the 10 Year Plan fit very closely with our own organisation’s priorities for improvement, as set out in our Medium Term Plan, and there are examples of this good practice in evidence across our area.
We will continue to drive improvements across Hertfordshire and west Essex in the weeks and months to come, using the 10 Year Health Plan to help inform and refine our plans so that we can work towards a healthier future for our residents and staff.