NHS bosses in England say a new long-term plan could tackle major killer conditions.
The NHS Long Term plan will save almost half a million lives with practical action on major killer conditions. GPs, mental health and community care will get the biggest funding increases. The aim is to limit the reliance on hospital which will get a smaller cut of the budget. The Long-term plan will include treatments such as genomic tests for every child with cancer, this means DNA tests will be carried out and children with genetic disorders will also get treatment.
The blueprint to make the NHS fit for the future will use new and improved technology such as digital GP consultations for all those who would like them. There will be a renewed focus on prevention to stop an estimated 85,000 premature deaths each year.
NHS leaders say the long-term plan will help to prevent 150,000 heart attacks, stroke and dementia cases whilst more than three million people will be benefiting from new stroke, respiratory and cardiac services over the next decade.
Patients will benefit from services ranging from improved neonatal care for new parents and babies to life-changing stroke therapy and integrated support to keep older people out of hospital.
The plan will also be the first time in NHS’ 70-year history when there will be a new guarantee that investment in primary, community and mental health care will grow faster. This will fund £4.5 billion new service model for the 21st century across England.
The dedication to tackle major physical conditions comes alongside the biggest ever investment in mental health services rising to at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. The long-term plan will see around two million more people who suffer with anxiety, depression or other problems receive help over the next decade including new dads as well as mums and 24 access to crisis care via NHS 111.
The NHS Long Term Plan will also:
- Ensure every hospital with a major A&E department has ‘same day emergency care’ in place so that patients can be treated and discharged with the right package of support, without needing an overnight stay.
- Use cutting edge scans and technology, including the potential use of artificial intelligence, to help provide the best stroke care in Europe with over 100,000 more people each year accessing new, better services
- Invest in earlier detection and better treatment of respiratory conditions to prevent 80,000 hospital admissions and smart inhalers will be piloted so patients can easily monitor their condition, regardless of where they are
- Open a digital ‘front door’ to the health service, allowing patients to be able to access health care at the touch of a button
- Provide genetic testing for a quarter of people with dangerously high inherited cholesterol, reaching around 30,000 people
- Give mental health help to 345,000 more children and young people through the expansion of community-based services, including in schools
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “The NHS has been marking its 70th anniversary, and the national debate has rightly centred on three big truths. There’s been pride in our health service’s enduring success, and in the shared social commitment it represents. There’s been concern – about funding, staffing, increasing inequalities and pressures from a growing and ageing population. And there’s also been legitimate optimism – about the possibilities for continuing medical advance and better outcomes of care.
“In looking ahead to the Health Service’s 80th birthday, this NHS Long Term Plan acts on all three of these realities. It keeps all that’s good about our health service and its place in our national life. It tackles head-on the pressures our staff face. And it sets a practical, costed, phased route map for the NHS’s priorities for care quality and outcomes improvement for the decade ahead.”
The NHS will be the first health service in the world to offer whole genome sequencing for children with cancer and young people with rare genetic disorder. The new testing services will be able to help cancer patients get diagnosed early and treat the conditions meaning 55,000 lives could be saved a year. Over 1000,000 patients with heart problems will be put through a healthy living and exercise programme every year.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: “We are really pleased to see that mental health is such a key focus in the NHS long term plan and we welcome the £2.3bn set aside for mental health services. This is the kind of sustained investment we need to see to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health and, if delivered, this plan will make a difference to the lives of thousands of people with mental health problems.
“Everyone now needs to work together to develop the workforce needed and to deliver these plans and to ensure the money reaches the frontline. Local decision makers need to develop their own plans and the proof of delivery will be in the experiences of people trying to access the services they need.”
