The secretary of state for health and social care has established 11 working groups to consider “the future vision for the NHS”, working to develop a 10-year health plan around areas including access, integrated care, infrastructure, data, tech, innovation, and more.
Four groups will consider the future vision for the NHS, with seven groups focusing on areas that will need to change to enable the visions to become a reality.
The four “vision” working groups will consider the role of the health service in preventative care; in offering access to high-quality care when and where it is needed; in what good joined-up care should look like for those living with long-term conditions; and in designing and delivering care to “significantly improve healthcare equity and address disparities in access, patient experience and outcomes”.
Ming Tang, NHS England and Dr Tim Ferris, Harvard Medical School, will lead the data and technology working group, aiming to “consider how the NHS should focus its resources to ensure it maximises the impact of data and technology”. The focus includes productivity in the NHS and how data can be used more effectively.
Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England and Professor Lord Darzi, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are to lead the research, life sciences and innovation group. Here the group will “consider how the NHS can identify and capitalise on technologies such as genomics, artificial intelligence, engineering biology and quantum sensing over the coming decade”.
Matthew Style, DHSC and Rob Webster CBE, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, will lead a focus on accountability and oversight. The aim is to review the current approach and whether it’s fit for purpose to drive improvement and to focus on “clarifying roles and incentivising the right behaviours and ways of working”.
To learn more about the new working groups and their remit, please click here.
Health and care direction
HTN recently highlighted how the Department of Health and Social Care launched an open call for comment asking for feedback on the health service and sharing intention to “have the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS”.
In September HTN examined the speech from Wes Streeting at the Labour Party Conference 2024, where he called for a tech- and data-driven reform of the NHS, citing “grim” results from the Darzi report and pledging to tackle long waiting lists and create “a digital healthcare service powered by cutting-edge technology”.
We explored Lord Darzi’s report with a focus on digital following its publication; and we also explored industry reactions here. Later this month (20 November, 11am-12pm) we will be hosting a panel discussion through which we welcome health and care leaders to discuss the report with a digital focus to drive change – sign up for your free NHS ticket here.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust published its IT Strategy for 2024 – 2028, with digital emphasised as a key enabler for efficiency, service improvement and innovation, with a need to deliver a digital service offering tech that is secure and easy to use; and features up-to-date and accurate data managed within a “secure, governed framework”.
HTN Now panel discussions from earlier in the year have also looked at new modes of collaboration, scaling health tech, and the future of digital leadership in healthcare; self-management and the future model of community care; and the future of patient portals.
