Stakeholder quotes in response to the 10-Year Health Plan

The Department of Health and Social Care has published supportive stakeholder quotes in response to the 10-Year Health Plan.

Dr Jeanette Dickson, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said:  

"The ambition, scale and innovative approaches set out in the 10 Year Health Plan can only be applauded. It promises a lot and properly implemented, offers an opportunity to revolutionise healthcare.  

“It's clearly not just about getting the NHS back on track, but designing a new healthcare system that's fit for the challenges of today and tomorrow and one that can work for patients, staff and taxpayers alike. The sheer breadth and scale of what's been set out will take time to fully digest, but the medical royal colleges are keen and ready to help implement the necessary changes to make this bold vision a reality."  

 Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said:   

“We are pleased to see the Government place the needs of patients at the centre of their Plan to reform the NHS, make clear commitments that will help fix the current crisis in palliative and end of life care for local communities, and set out a clear roadmap for creating an NHS that is fit for the future.   

“We look forward to working with them to ensure that additional NHS funding announced in the Spending Review transforms care in the community for people with a terminal illness.”    

Katharine Jenner, Director, Obesity Health Alliance said:  

“This is a positive step towards the healthier future people want. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing condition that needs long-term support. Crucially, as the Government now rightly recognises, we must also shift to preventing ill health before it starts. 

“After years of broken promises, delays and weak voluntary measures, this government must implement their Plan for Change in full this Parliament. Only then we can start to transform our food system – from one that fuels poor health to one that supports good health. 

“Real progress means taking mandatory action to tackle the relentless marketing and promotion of unhealthy food, improving access to nutritious options, and making healthy food affordable for everyone, right from the start of life.” 

Ravi Gurumurthy, CEO of Nesta, said:  

"Nye Bevan's original vision for the NHS placed prevention at its heart. This plan takes important steps toward realising that ambition. The introduction of a new healthy food standard, alongside ending the sale of cigarettes, are serious interventions that could substantially reduce cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases and narrow health inequalities. 

“The shift to a neighbourhood health service has the potential to deliver better care within communities and reduce avoidable hospital admissions." 

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:  

“You can't upgrade the nation's health without tackling cardiovascular disease, one of the UK's biggest killers.  

“Today's ambitious plan lays the foundation for how we can stop more lives lost too soon to heart disease, prevent more heart attacks and strokes, and help more people live with healthier hearts for longer.” 

Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association said: 

“The 10,000 NHS pharmacies in England are right in the heart of their communities on high streets, in health centres, close to people's doorsteps, providing health care and advice to millions every week. 

"Pharmacies want to be able to offer better, more joined up care for their communities so they share the Government's ambition to bring care closer to people. 

“It's important that pharmacies, who already do this work day in day out, are placed at the heart of these plans. 

"Investing in pharmacies can create a future where people can drop in for treatment, check ups, medicine reviews, and advice. 

"Pharmacies want to work with GPs, social workers and colleagues across the health service to provide better health care, nearer to people's homes and take pressure off the NHS.” 

Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: 

“The Government's plan aligns well with the value that pharmacies can bring and will begin to harness the sector's potential for the benefit of patients, communities and the wider NHS. Research shows that the public already supports playing community pharmacies playing a bigger role in healthcare services, and the sector has a unique ability to break down barriers to care coupled with an astonishingly strong record on efficiency.   

“But before this plan can become a reality, first the Government must deliver on its commitment to build the sustainable funding model that community pharmacy so desperately needs. The millions of people relying on them every day don't want to lose their local pharmacies to financial collapse, which is something the Government should carefully consider as it seeks to implement its plan.  

“This plan is not the end of the road; it's just the beginning.” 

Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices, was invited by Government to help shape the vision for the NHS 10 Year Plan. Alongside Professor Bola Owolabi, the Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, he co-chaired the vision group on how the plan could create a truly fair and inclusive health service. National Voices' statements were central to the development of all the vision group work that underpinned the plans development.  

“From what we have seen of the plan so far, there is a welcome new emphasis on improving day-to-day patient experience and outcomes. This focus is essential if the Government's three shifts are to achieve the aim of boosting public confidence, creating an NHS that is more sustainable and ensuring that no communities are left behind.   
 
“But we have seen plans before and we must now see clear action on how this will deliver practical changes to people in the real-world. We know from our engagement with our members and the people they advocate for that trust in the NHS is at an all-time low, with frustrations wide-spread on long waiting times, poor communication and frustrating admin processes. All of this is backed up by this years' shockingly bad British Social Attitudes Survey results. 

“With so much structural change also happening in the sector, there's a real risk of leaders and frontline staff becoming distracted. But if we don't fix these basics in the next few years then the NHS will not win back the public trust in the services it offers, and is likely to face even greater existential challenges in the years ahead. 

“By finally shifting more resources into the areas of greatest need, the Plan can help tackle the inverse care law head on and finally address that poverty is a driver of poor health comes. But shifting resources is only half the battle.  

“We need to see outcomes on health inequalities used as one of the key success measures for NHS leaders as a new culture of accountability is developed through implementation. This will be backed up by the NHS' plans to publish the demographic data for key performance measures, such as hospital waiting lists. This transparency will make it impossible for leaders to hide or ignore the blatant inequalities faced by minoritised communities any longer.” 

Joseph Brunwin, UK Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, said: 

‘This long-awaited plan sets out an encouraging vision for the future of health and care – with a clear focus on prevention, digital transformation and delivering more care in the community. These are all areas where occupational therapy already makes a vital contribution and we welcome the alignment with our own workforce strategy.  

‘Occupational therapists have the skills and insight to be at the heart of neighbourhood health services – working across communities to keep people well and connected to the support they need close to home. They are central to preventing hospital admissions, supporting mental health and enabling people to do the activities – occupations – they want and need to do. 

‘But there aren't enough occupational therapists and many people are waiting too long for the support they desperately need. So, while we're encouraged that the government will publish a new 10-Year Workforce Plan, it's imperative that this delivers an enlarged and strengthened occupational therapy workforce to achieve these ambitions. 

‘We look forward to working with government, the NHS, and partners across health and social care to embed occupational therapy across systems where they can have most impact, ease pressure on frontline services and help people stay well for longer and live their best life.'