Q's response to the NHS 10-Year Health Plan for England

The NHS 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out welcome priorities for more integrated services, boosting primary and community care, harnessing innovation and technology and reducing health inequalities. It’s an exciting vision, but as we all know, the NHS has never been short of ambition or ideas. The challenge will be in the implementation. A renewed and radical focus on collaborative approaches to improvement will be an essential ingredient if delivery is to succeed where previous reform strategies have faltered.

Take the introduction of neighbourhood health centres. This major shift of care out of hospitals and into the community will of course need investment in capital and workforce. But the hoped-for financial and quality benefits will only follow if there is also a commitment to creative, rigorous implementation. Improvement approaches bring sophisticated ways to 

• spread best practice between areas
• meaningfully engage staff and patients
• build effective new cross-sector partnerships 
• relentlessly measure impact and ongoing iteration.

At Q, we are ready to support our diverse community to play a central role in delivering the plan – bringing expertise in established methods and much-needed energy for change. As the NHS’s operating model changes, we will continue supporting local and national leaders to create the culture and conditions needed for improvement efforts to succeed.