NHS England plans new five-year strategy

NHS England is developing a five-year strategy for the NHS which will be called the NHS Five Year Forward View (5YFV). Likely to be published in October 2014, the same month as The Pharmacy Show, it is expected to be a highly influential document setting out Simon Steven’s (NHS England chief executive officer) vision for the NHS.

The document will consider why change is needed in the NHS, what success might look like, and how the NHS might achieve these ambitions. The strategy will include a range of care models that could deliver transformation, identifying the actions required at the local and national level to support delivery. It will provide:

• A clear vision, setting out the particular contribution that the NHS and others can make to the health of our nation, and the transformation required to meet the changing needs of current and future patients;
• A shared understanding of the extent and nature of the gap between where the NHS is, and where it needs to be, including: the ‘financial’ context for both demand and supply, the ‘health’ opportunity and the ‘care’ opportunity — transformation requires all three to be addressed;
• A range of care models that could deliver transformation (the what) identifying the actions required at the local and national level to support delivery (the how);
• Priority areas for targeting transformation, identifying what needs to happen to support delivery and the potential benefits for patients and taxpayers;
• Actions that we can take nationally to create the conditions for local action.

The 5YFV will look at a range of issues, including:

• How can the NHS and its healthcare professionals improve the health of the population and what role might the workplace play in particular?
• How can the NHS support patients to be more active and engaged in their own health, and how can it improve the responsiveness of the NHS when people are ill?
• What tangible steps can the NHS take to support the carers and volunteers?
• What are the new care models that could deliver integrated and responsive care, and how can the NHS achieve delivery?
• What is the true cost and value of the NHS to UK plc; how can the NHS be ‘future proofed’, taking advantage of technology, innovation and genomics?
• What benefits will any recommendations provide for patients and taxpayers, and what is the underpinning model of change that will drive improvement?

According to NHS England, existing research will be used for “review and challenge”. A key part of this information will include the community pharmacy Call to Action.

Further information from NHS England: www.england.nhs.uk/2014/08/15/5yfv/