You will be aware of the publication of Lord Darzi’s Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, which is designed as a first step to support the development of a 10-year plan for the service.
We will be considering the review in detail as a Board and alongside our One Gloucestershire health and care partners. We did however want to offer some initial observations in the context of our strategic plans and the direction of travel for local services and support.
We recently published a first refresh of our 5-year Joint Forward Plan (JFP) for Gloucestershire and it is clear that many of the key challenges and opportunities set out in Lord Darzi’s report are major themes within our system plan. The JFP is underpinned by three strategic pillars:
Making Gloucestershire a better place for the future – we know that strong partnerships to support prevention and good health are critical and it starts early. Placing significant focus on families and the formative years of children and young people is universally recognised in Gloucestershire. Whether it’s physical or mental health – healthier young lives means a healthier NHS in the future.
We strongly support the prioritisation of mental health services recognising the substantial increase in need in recent years. We will continue to invest in services supporting children, young people and adults in schools, communities and at home. We recognise the imperative and need to support thousands of people back to health, back to education and employment and back to fulfilling lives.
We are also prioritising the long-standing health inequalities that exist across our county and in turn removing the barriers to good health and services. That requires us to adapt and wherever possible tailor our support and service offer in neighbourhoods and communities.
Transforming what we do – that greater shift and focus on transforming communities and strengthening community services is essential and fully supported in Gloucestershire.
We continue to support integration from the bottom up through our dedicated and innovative Primary Care Networks, community services and Integrated Locality Partnerships and this is already helping to move the dial from sickness to prevention and proactive care.
It is also helping vulnerable people, including older people and those with chronic long- term conditions, to take an active role in their own health and care, remain independent and supported at home for longer, whilst reducing the need for hospital stays. We do however recognise the levels of need, the intense pressure on staff and the need to strengthen services.
The health of our NHS and local people is also dependent on valuing and developing our dedicated and diverse workforce in all parts of the system, backed by fair pay. We strive together to make the NHS in Gloucestershire the employer of choice in terms of training, education, professional development and career progression.
We welcome recognition of the huge value and importance of the social care workforce too and will support work nationally, and alongside our local authority partners, to champion reform and development of the profession.
We will continue to support the drive from analogue to digital in all aspects of healthcare. There is already much to celebrate, but we must continue to capitalise at pace on the advances in technology, medicine and life sciences. We know for example, that new technologies can identify and catch health problems earlier, empower patients – giving them greater control over their healthcare, improve efficiency and reduce waiting times.
Improving health and care services today – we will work locally and nationally to tackle the underlying issues that prevent real stability and a healthy future for primary care – the bedrock of our NHS. This is essential for improving access and for the experience of patients and practice teams alike.
We recognise the need to continue to develop and increase capacity within community services, caring for people as close to home as possible. Without doing this, we cannot truly support our acute hospital services to focus on their specialist areas of expertise and invest and innovate in those key areas.
We must continue the system’s good work to tackle head on the planned care waiting list backlog, reduce cancer waiting times and increase access to diagnostics. Along with digital transformation, the local NHS is increasing capacity and improving processes, for example simplifying the patient’s care journey, including appointments. Progress is being made, but there is much more to do, including greater support for those specialties who need it.
Improving urgent and emergency care, including A&E, means increasing support outside of hospital in the community and improving joint working and decision making in hospital. The success of our Integrated Flow Hub at Gloucestershire hospitals is proof positive that we can make better decisions and improve the experience of patients by all working as one.
The national 10 Year Plan
Our Board and partners will ensure that our local system helps to shape the emerging national NHS 10 Year Plan which aims to address many of the findings of Lord Darzi’s report.
We will support this important engagement and ensure that our future strategic plans are fully aligned and continue to address the priorities of our local population.
The NHS cannot solve these challenges alone. We will continue to work seamlessly across public health, the NHS, social care and with a broad range of voluntary, community and public sector partners in the knowledge that prevention is better than cure and the health of the NHS and local people is dependent on tackling inequalities, building healthy communities, a healthy workforce and strong, resilient partners. If it can’t be done in Gloucestershire, it can’t be done anywhere.
The NHS is not beaten and it’s our responsibility to work tirelessly – with vision and purpose – to bring it back to where it needs to be for current and future generations.
Best wishes
Dame Gill Morgan (Chair)
Mary Hutton (Chief Executive)
NHS Gloucestershire