Health chiefs have told NHS Providers that politicians must get behind its ‘next generation NHS’ plan, following prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a general election on 4 July.
NHS Providers’ A picture of health: delivering the next generation NHS report sets out how the government and health sector can work together to maximise the NHS’s social and economic value.
Other priorities include to:
- Reaffirm the commitment to the health service’s core values and reduce inequalities
- Build a new infrastructure programme
- Nurture the workforce
- Champion a culture of openness, improvement and innovation
- Provide care in the right place at the right time
"We urge politicians to rally round our 'next generation' NHS,” said NHS Providers’ CEO, Sir Julian Hartley.
“We need health services fit for the future with patients and communities at the heart of conversations.
"The next government and the NHS must work hand in hand to create the picture of health for the nation we all want to see."
In a similar vein, the NHS Confederation has called on the government to put the health of the nation at the forefront of its plans and get the NHS on sustainable footing.
The membership organisation for healthcare voices across England, Wales and Northern Ireland set out its manifesto ahead of the impending election in February and detailed what leaders from across the entire health ecosystem think is needed to build a NHS for the future.
The Building the health of the nation: priorities for a new government report includes calls to:
- Ban unnecessary and distracting structural reforms for the duration of the next parliament
- Roughly double NHS capital expenditure for vital building updates and new equipment
- Fund the existing NHS workforce plan
- Develop a new cross-government health improvement strategy
The NHS Confederation’s CEO, Matthew Taylor, said: “Health leaders are clear on what the NHS needs to thrive and they recognise they also have an important role to play in making this happen, including by working even harder to spend every healthcare pound as effectively as possible.
“We are at a turning point for the NHS and political parties have a choice to make on what they want their legacy to be if they are granted the keys to Downing Street.
“Simply put, the next government’s commitment to the NHS will shape our own health and wellbeing, and those of generations to come.”
The general election comes in the midst of an array of challenges for the NHS.
Polling from Ipsos suggests that Brits are now more worried about the NHS than inflation, as experts predict the health service will not reduce the elective backlog to pre-pandemic levels over the next four years; vacancies sit at more than 121,000 for the English NHS; and the impact of a £43bn per annum hole in the labour market continues to be felt.
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