There has been much in the media about the NHS 10 year plan which was published on 3rd July and the ‘radical reform’ it proposes. BCVS has been liaising with local stakeholders to better understand the changes proposed and opportunities and risks created within the plan. Please see the executive summary here for information: Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England
The broad aims to ‘reinvent the NHS through 3 radical shifts - hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention’ are welcome. However, BCVS is deeply concerned about the potential loss of the role, value, experience and independence of Healthwatch in amplification of patient voice and service shaping. Healthwatch remains a valued asset within the system and VCSE sector in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. As stated by our colleagues in Nottinghamshire ‘We acknowledge that change is coming — but change must be meaningful, co-produced, and rooted in equity and lived experience, not political expediency.’
Healthwatch Links