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We are about to embark on what is billed to be, the biggest public consultation on the future of the NHS, ever.
It’s not the first time the NHS has sought opinion on changes. The most spectacular was the Lansley Health and Social Care Bill (2010–2012)
The plan was to disassemble components of the service and turn the organigramme of the NHS into something that made a Jackson Pollock picture look sane.
Despite widespread criticism from medical professionals, patient advocacy groups, and the public, the Bill passed through Parliament largely unchanged, leading to the controversial restructuring of services that’s taken several years to unpick and finally, dump.
The lack of policy changes following the consultation led to continued opposition and served to undermine any confidence in the whole process of consultation.
Nevertheless here we go again.
Get yer ideas ready for the consultation. What are you going to say? If it helps, this is my two pennyworth;
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Shift towards preventive care to reduce the burden of preventable diseases
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Increase funding and expand capacity in primary and community care services.
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Improve access to mental health services, with a commitment to achieving parity of esteem.
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Better recruitment, training, and retention strategies to ensure a sustainable workforce.
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Leverage technology to improve service delivery, patient care, and operational efficiency.
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Promote integrated care through closer collaboration between NHS services, local authorities, and social care providers.
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Address disparities in health outcomes among different populations and regions.
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Enhance early detection and treatment of cancer to improve survival rates.
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Deliver more individualised care, giving patients greater control over their own health and treatment.
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Focus on improving care pathways, prevention, and early intervention to manage long-term conditions effectively.
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Improve hospital efficiency, reduce delays, and increase capacity for elective surgeries.
Do you agree? I hope you do and I’ll let you into a secret...
... this is no great big-brain thinking on my part. I just looked up the existing NHS LongTerm Plan, précised it down and Bob’s yer uncle.
I find it hard to imagine the upshot of any new consultation will come up with anything that is very different.
Why? Because it's common sense. We all know it needs doing and hasn't been because there's been no investment strategy to make it happen.
Why are we going through the pain and the expense of doing it all again?
It is political pantomime.
Maybe Labour don’t know about the existing plan… unlikely, or want to stall to create what’s called ‘motivation by an impending event’...
... as the NHS is looking down both barrels of a winter crisis, people think about leaving and the going gets even tougher, Streeting will say, stick with it, ‘there is a plan on the way’.
And that is a cunning plan!
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