|
Sources close to our great leader; Tom Ato and HP are telling me, the 9.5yr plan is now on the screen of its 4th author...
... trying to settle on words that don't come with money or implementation.
The latest? Expect something in July.
I find it ridiculous we have a political party who waited 14 years to get into power and arrived with an empty briefcase.
Let’s make it easy for them… in 600 words. What do we want?
A model that has universal access, public trust, smart use of digital and prevention embedded in everyday life… not just the clinic.
We don’t have to be smart to do this. We just have to be smart enough to look for the best and copy it. Study global top performers. Understand how they succeed.
Find the best, stop admiring them and start stealing.
Look across the world and pick the best bits from the best bits.
See how the best invest in prevention, digital infrastructure, and community-based care. Reduce bureaucracy while keeping the universal, equitable principles that underpin the NHS at its best.
A world-class NHS… what do we copy?
Maternity Services: Sweden
- Midwife-led care with medical backup when needed.
- Continuity of care from pregnancy to postnatal period.
- Very low maternal and infant mortality rates.
- Emphasis on women's choice and safety.
How do they do it? Dunno. Go… find out and copy it.
Elder Care: Singapore
- Extensive home and community based support.
- Strong integration between health and social care.
- Co-payments capped by income, with means-tested subsidies.
- Use of smart tech and robotics in long-term care settings.
Mental Health: The Netherlands
- Early intervention and community-based services… the norm.
- Integrated with primary care and social services.
- Mental health parity with physical health, in law and funding.
- Comprehensive psychological support.
Primary Care: Finland
- Multidisciplinary health centres with GPs, nurses, social workers, psychologists under one roof.
- Electronic health records integrated across providers.
- Emphasis on preventive care, screening, and lifestyle support.
- Rapid access to same-day appointments.
Hospital Services: France
- High bed numbers and short waiting times for surgery.
- Patient choice of hospital and consultant.
- Generous staffing and well-equipped facilities.
Digital Health: Estonia
- Universal electronic health records accessible by patients and all providers.
- E-prescribing, e-consultations, and national patient portals are standard.
- Transparent access logs: patients see who’s viewed their data.
- Digital ID allows seamless interaction with the health system.
Vaccination and Preventive Care: Denmark
- High vaccine uptake through integrated GP-led programmes.
- Strong public trust and transparent communication.
- Proactive screening and health promotion initiatives.
- Public health and clinical care work in tandem.
Emergency and Ambulance Services: Japan
- Universal, fast ambulance response (average ~8 minutes).
- Paramedics trained to provide a wide range of treatments pre-hospital.
- Coordination with hospitals ensures minimal A&E overcrowding.
System Integration & Reform: New Zealand
- Integrated Care Systems in reality, not rhetoric.
- Health boards and regions responsible for population health, not just treatment.
- Māori health partnerships as a model for community co-design.
- Data sharing, funding, and performance aligned across all levels.
Prevention?
The country most widely regarded as the global leader in prevention is Denmark… with Japan a strong contender.
Denmark has a whole-of-government public health approach. They get the fact prevention is not just about healthcare… it’s embedded across education, planning, taxation, and employment policy.
They use nudges and incentives… sugar taxes, tobacco restrictions, alcohol limits, to steer healthy choices.
Danish GPs play a central role in prevention. Regular check-ups, screening invitations, and lifestyle advice are routine.
GPs are paid for preventive work and early detection.
Childhood vaccination rates are among the highest in the world. National screening programmes for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer with very high participation rates.
The Danish health portal (sundhed.dk) provides individuals with access to personal health records, screening invitations, test results, and preventive advice... no expensive App.
Integration between systems means early warning flags are raised automatically.
In Japan… it’s mandatory for employers to offer annual health checks (Kenko Shindan). Government/employer collaboration because they realise productivity means healthy people.
The people?
Norway has 18 nurses for every 1000 population, England has 7.7 and they have far more doctors per capita… because of strong workforce planning.
And the money?
Have a look at the graph below and you can see it was the (grey) austerity years that did the damage. Other countries were investing, we were in austerity. We never caught up.
There's yer plan... so get pilfering...
...you can call it research...
| 
