HSJ has seen a leaked document that states that a drive to ‘transform’ access to urgent, emergency and planned care will be added to the goals of the NHS long-term plan.
Originally published in January 2019, the long-term plan for the NHS is being reviewed by NHS England and has said to senior officials that many of the commitments could not be met after the damage of the pandemic.
NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care had hope to publish the “refresh” of the LTP before the summer parliamentary recess. However, HSJ understands the involvement of the Treasury and No 10 means it could be delayed until early autumn.
HSJ has seen a document prepared for the most recent meeting of the NHS Assembly which sets out NHSE’s approach to the refresh.
The brief reveals the refresh will have six overarching “strategic developments”. They map closely to the original LTP’s six “chapters” with one exception. There is no longer a separate strategic priority dedicated to expanding digital care in the NHS. Instead, a new priority stresses the need to “transform access to urgent, emergency and planned care.”
Full story in The HSJ, 24 June 2022