The UK Government has launched its strategic vision for men’s health, noting plans to encourage men to take charge of their physical and mental health and wellbeing, expand access to services, and reduce inequalities.
The shift to digital outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan will also reflect the specific needs of men, the DHSC states, committing to exploring opportunities for men to access tailored information, support, and test booking from home via expansion of the NHS App. A new NHS HealthStore will promote access to approved digital tools and NICE approved apps to support men with weight loss and Type 2 diabetes management.
Access to specialist consultant-led support will be provided through increased remote monitoring for men with prostate cancer, and virtual hospital pathways for men with lower urinary tract symptoms or raised PSA levels who are at risk of prostate cancer. “This means that services will be available more quickly from anywhere in the country and that men can be diagnosed, treated and supported without needing to physically visit a hospital,” the DHSC notes.
On improving access to healthcare services, plans include a £3 million investment into community-based men’s health programmes designed to reach “those most at risk and least likely to engage with traditional services”; a three-year collaboration with the Premier League to improve men’s health literacy and engagement with a focus on mental health and suicide prevention; and embedding digital health solutions to improve timeliness and convenience of care through NHS Online.
Work will be done with relevant stakeholders to create a men’s health resource hub to help ensure health interventions and programmes are responsive to men’s needs, and a new e-learning module on men’s health will be made available for all staffing groups. The DHSC will also support the work of the Royal College of GPs in exploring the possibility of developing an “extended role” for GPs in men’s health, and look to attract more men into clinical professions including allied health.
The evidence base on health inequalities will be explored for insight into what works for different groups of men, across multiple conditions and settings, including work with the newly established Men’s Health Academic Network. A focus will also be placed on improving data collection and evaluation, with all NIHR-funded research from now onwards required to consider sex and gender to ensure fair representation.
“We are also creating a single, secure gateway to health and care data through the Health Data Research Service, accelerating the discovery of treatments to improve men’s health, and developing the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics to improve the availability of sex disaggregated data in major health surveys and provide a better understanding of men’s health outcomes and experiences,” the DHSC states.
Wider trend: The shift to digital under the 10-Year Health Plan
The UK government has published its Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England, aiming to “build a truly modern NHS”, with focus on moving from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. AI, technology and digital tools play a key role in realising its ambitions, with the UK government signalling the intention for patients to gain “real control through a single, secure and authoritative account of their data and single patient record” aiming to deliver more co-ordinated, personalised and predictive care.
The government simultaneously outlined the role of the NHS App in its health system of the future, highlighting AI-enabled features, links with wearable tech, and access to the Single Patient Record. It will become a “doctor in their pockets” for patients as a tool for access, empowerment, and care planning, creating a “full front door to the entire NHS”. It will offer remote or face-to-face appointment booking and signposting to the most appropriate service with the AI-enabled My NHS GP, and allow patients to select preferred providers through My Choices. Functionality will also be available for patients to self-refer with My Specialist, and to connect with clinicians via remote consultations with My Consult.
Under the 10-Year Health Plan, the government will undertake a national procurement for a new platform for “proactive, planned care”, offering expanded opportunities for remote monitoring. This is backed by further commitments to develop new payment models to encourage a shift in urgent and emergency care, offering financial incentives to drive neighbourhood health forward. The intention is for the platform to be available to all NHS provider organisations, offering functionality including the ability to remotely monitor patients with data flowing through the NHS App and Single Patient Record. This will reportedly encourage the proactive management of patients to “become the new normal”, allowing clinicians to reach out at the first signs of deterioration to prevent emergency admissions to hospital.
