The 10 year Health Plan for England – time now to focus on how

In its Analysis article, the BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS describes the recent ten-year-plan for the NHS as ‘more of an ambition than a plan’, and raises concerns about how it might be delivered.

The Commission suggests that the plan features paternalistic, top-down and technocratic thinking, and doesn’t always consider the agency of the people who work for or use NHS services. Although it shares similarities to the NHS Plan of 2000, the older plan was supported by NHS leaders at all levels and benefited from being very well-funded. The newer incarnation is less well-supported.

The article also raises concerns about the lack of attention to existing health inequalities and asks exactly how it might help achieve the government’s ambition to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between England’s richest and poorest regions.

If the Plan is to work, say the authors, there will need to be a focus on its top priorities, its implementation, and the NHS workforce. It will also be vital to involve NHS staff, patients and the wider public.