“It is positive that the NHS 10-year plan sets out a clear and bold long-term vision for the future, and we fully support the focus on the three shifts – analogue to digital; treatment to prevention; and hospitals to community.
Responding to the NHS 10-year plan, Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association, said:
“It is positive that the NHS 10-year plan sets out a clear and bold long-term vision for the future, and we fully support the focus on the three shifts – analogue to digital; treatment to prevention; and hospitals to community.
“But these are not new ambitions. To realise this vision and meet these challenges, we all need to work differently together and with our communities. The crucial role of councils must be recognised.
“For the 10-year plan to succeed, it is absolutely paramount that all of the NHS, and its partners, engage fully and openly with councils across the country, and work collaboratively with us to deliver for our communities.
“Health does not begin in hospitals – it begins in homes, streets, parks, and schools. The NHS cannot deliver a healthier society on its own. This is why we are urging ministers to set up a new national-local coalition to help deliver these neighbourhood health models that put prevention and place at the heart of public services.
“This can help tackle the stark and unjust health inequalities our country faces, which councils are pivotal in addressing. The NHS should collaborate closely with councils, local communities, and businesses, to develop targeted interventions to improve health outcomes.
“A neighbourhood health model will be vital in achieving a more preventative way of working that is built on the needs and assets of local people and not around organisations. Strong relationships between local government, health and voluntary and community sector leaders will be key to its success.
“The ambitions of the 10-year plan also cannot be realised in full if we don’t have an adult social care system that is financially sustainable, funded to be properly preventative, and rooted in personalised care and support. The need to reform adult social care cannot wait until the Casey Commission delivers its final report in 2028, and should be acted on now, alongside the 10-year plan.”