Support Staffordshire has been absorbing the detail of the NHS 10 Year Plan. For an all-round analysis please see the below overview from our national body NAVCA. We are especially pleased to see the focus on prevention and neighbourhood working. The VCSE sector has lots to contribute and can lead on much of this work. However, we add the caution that this means shifting resources from large NHS trusts to the community and cannot be built solely on the goodwill of charities and community groups to keep doing what they already do, turned towards NHS patients.
The biggest news in the plan, clumsily briefed a few days before, is the ‘abolition’ of Healthwatch. In the detail its far less clear what this means as it sets out that patient feedback functions remain but will be insourced to the Integrated Care Board and Local Authorities respectively for health and social care. We will be keeping a close eye on the implementation detail here, and like many others we support the principle of ensuring patient voice can remain independent of vested interests.
Finally, we note the structural changes which again are not hugely clear, with reduced but remaining ICBs, yet potential for NHS Trusts to take on most of their spending/commissioning functions. And the relationship with local government is also a little cloudy given we are in the midst of change there too. One hopes sincerely that structural change doesn’t lead to months or years of navel gazing whilst services and support stalls.
Garry Jones (he/him)
Chief Executive