The Ten Year NHS Plan a view from FODO

The NHS 10-Year Health Plan

A view from FODO and the NCHA

It’s true that it repeats much (albeit with new names), and like many NHS plans before it, implementation will be the primary challenge.

However, few doubt that the political and economic stakes are considerable regarding the new 10-Year Health Plan for England.

A government warning accompanies the ambitious plan – the NHS is at risk due to its share of public spending and record-low satisfaction rates, and this time it is about “reform or die”.
The government’s stated priorities include reducing waiting lists, transforming payment systems, reviewing regulations, empowering patients with digital tools, and shifting spending from acute hospitals to the community.

In short, the government has set out one of the most ambitious strategies to transform one of our most complex institutions. It’s doing so against a backdrop of uncertainty for UK PLC finances and a promise to successfully deliver the plan as a central part of its re-election strategy.

• FODO response – welcomes recognition of the benefits of primary eye care but notes NHS funding must ‘follow the patient’ for reforms to be successful
• NCHA response – supports the government prioritising direct access to audiology

Others in the Optical sector have been reported separately on Opchat News but here are links to others: 

• Royal College of Ophthalmologists – supports the shift from hospital to community, but questions funding and “consultant oversight”
• Community Pharmacy England – like FODO, NCHA and others – welcomes the plan, but considers that sustainable funding models for primary care will be key to successful delivery
• IHPN – supports the plan, committing to a plurality of providers
• BMA – warns the government will “have ‘little hope’ of pushing through its package of reforms” while “doctors’ pay and unemployment remained unresolved”.