Summary
The NHS Long Term Plan was released earlier this week. The plan is backed by the commitment of an extra £20.5 billion funding for the NHS per year.
“The 10-year plan includes measures to prevent 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases, and better access to mental health services for adults and children”.
Reference
NHS Long Term Plan to tackle major killer conditions and save up to half a million lives. [Online]: NHS England, January 7th 2019.
This relates to:
Reference
The NHS Long Term Plan. London: NHS England, January 7th 2019.
There is also an Executive Summary.
The NHS Long Term Plan website has links to various case studies.
See also:
Reference
NHS Long Term Plan launched. London: Department of Health and Social Care, January 7th 2019.
Comment and analysis from BBC News:
Reference
Pym, H. (2019). Will NHS long-term plan deliver the goods? London: BBC Health News, January 7th 2019.
and:
Reference
Triggle, N. (2019). NHS long-term plan: Focus on prevention ‘could save 500,000 lives’. London: BBC Health News, January 7th 2019.
Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD): the CVDPREVENT National Primary Care Audit
The CVDPREVENT program involves extracting data automatically from primary care, to help understand how many patients with the high-risk conditions – hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol and atrial fibrillation (AF) – are undiagnosed, under-treated or over-treated.
The CVDPREVENT Implementation Steering Group comprises representatives from RCGP, NHS Digital, NICE, Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement, British Heart Foundation, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Primary Care Cardiovascular Society and GPs.
Reference
CVDPREVENT. London: NHS England, August 2020.Earlier:
Reference
NHS 10-year plan: Labour attacks Theresa May over proposals. London: BBC Health News, January 6th 2019.
Further:
Reference
Triggle, N. (2019). NHS plan: What it means for you. London: BBC Health News, January 7th 2019.
Collaboration vital:
Reference
Triggle, N. (2019). Are Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms being binned? London: BBC Health News, January 11th 2019.
Funding for Local Clinical Commissioning Groups: Tackling Health Inequalities
Local health services have been allocated £570 billion (with “increase of at least 17% over the next five years, including a minimum rise of 4.4% next year”), based on a new funding formula which prioritises regions with the highest rates of premature mortality and unmet health needs.
Reference
Local NHS allocated £570 billion to fund the NHS Long Term Plan. [Online]: NHS England, January 10th 2019.
Integration of Care
The Homefirst Scheme, in the Somerset STP, is an example of integrated working with a view to earlier discharge from hospital and treatment back in the community.
Reference
Patients avoid 7,500 nights in hospital with ‘tailored’ home help scheme. [Online]: NHS England, January 10th 2019.
NHS England’s Elective Care Transformation Programme
Reference
Millions to get fast support to overcome back pain thanks to NHS Long Term Plan. [Online]: NHS England, February 23rd 2019.
Digital Checks on Hospital Patients
Reports of digital screening “blueprints” which aim to achieve earlier recognition and treatment of delirium and sepsis using digital technology. Further, street triage teams in the North East have achieved a 78% reduction in police detentions under the Mental Health Act by teams of NHS staff and police being equipped with mobile devices for remote access to hospital electronic records.
Reference
Older patients spared dementia and falls by NHS tech roll-out. [Online]: NHS England, February 7th 2019.
Electronic Sepsis Alert and Action
New “alert and action” technologies use algorithms to track patients’ vital signs and raise alerts for worsening conditions which are warning signs of sepsis.
Reference
Hundreds of lives saved through new tech to spot sepsis. [Online]: NHS England, August 18th 2019.
The broader context:
Reference
NHS Long Term Plan to reduce toll of ‘hidden killer’ sepsis. [Online]: NHS England, March 11th 2019.
NHS Workforce Shortages
Analysis from the BBC Reality Check Team:
Reference
Schraer, R. [and] Butcher, B. (2019). NHS long-term plan: Are there enough staff to make it happen? London: BBC Health News / BBC Reality Check Team, January 7th 2019.
A King’s Fund Overview and Assessment
A King’s Fund “explainer” piece discusses the components, the opportunities and the challenges of the plan. The main section headings comprise:
Reference
Charles, A. Ewbank, L. McKenna, H. [and] Wenzel, L. (2019). The NHS long-term plan explained. [Online]: King’s Fund, January 2019.
Sustainability Issues Remain?
The National Audit Office (NAO)’s annual report on financial sustainability in the NHS in England remains skeptical regarding the persistence of trust deficits, workforce shortages and breaches of waiting time targets:
Reference
Pym, H. (2019). Is the NHS’s long-term plan workable? London: BBC Health News, January 18th 2019.
“ …without a long-term funding settlement for social care there are concerns that it will be very difficult to make the NHS sustainable”.
This relates to:
Reference
NHS financial sustainability report 2017-18. London: National Audit Office, January 14th 2019. HC 1867.
There is also an Executive Summary.
Progress After Six Months
An informal account of progress in implementation, from Wilmington Healthcare employees, which happens to mention vertical integration in Wolverhampton:
Reference
How, S. Midgley, P. [and] Hudson, O. (2019). The Plan in action. [Online]: PharmaTimes Online, July 2019.
Reflections on Evolving NHS Terminological Usage?
A philosophical, if less than serious, take on emerging trends in NHS terminology:
Reference
Patterson, J. (2019). All you need to know about long-term planning. London [Online]: NHSNetworks, January 11th 2019.
