The Government published its 10-Year Health Plan for England, Fit for the Future, on Thursday 3 July 2025. Central to the messaging on the Plan, the Government has reiterated that the NHS is broken.[1] Lord Darzi’s independent investigation of the NHS in England exposed a wide range of issues across the health system and called for major reform. With NHS satisfaction at just 21 per cent,[2] the new 10-Year Plan has arrived at a crucial moment, aiming to deliver the reform the NHS urgently needs.
Key features of the 10-Year Health Plan
- Hospital to Community – The 10-Year Health Plan aims to shift care from hospitals to community settings, to improve access and streamline care delivery as well as reducing reliance on hospital outpatient and emergency services.[3]
- Analogue to Digital – Central to the new 10-Year Health Plan is a full digital transformation. By 2028, the NHS App is to become the ‘front-door’, allowing appointment booking, self-referral for mental health, medication tracking, feedback, and AI-powered health advice.[4]
- Sickness to Prevention – The Plan places considerable attention on prevention, with pledges to increase lifestyle interventions through NHS-provided weight management, healthier food incentives, and smoking cessation efforts, including possible collaborations with food industry partners or regulatory shifts.
What does this mean for Patients?
The 10-Year Plan aims to create greater autonomy for patients by placing their voices and experiences at the heart of healthcare reform.
Key initiatives include expanding the NHS App to make it easier for patients to manage appointments, access information, and provide feedback. The plan also brings patient representation closer to the centre of decision-making by integrating elements of the patient voice directly into the Department of Health and Social Care, establishing a new National Director of Patient Experience, and reforming the complaints process. Additionally, novel approaches such as ‘patient power payments’ are being tested to allow individuals to withhold part of the payment for their care if it falls short of expectations.
For these changes to be truly effective, patients must be involved not just as recipients of care but as active partners in shaping it, through consistent feedback, and a system that listens and responds to what they say. With NHS satisfaction rates at all time low (21 per cent),[5] it is also essential to have clear mechanisms for acknowledging when patient feedback has led to change, so that people know their input is being heard and acted upon.
How does the 10-Year Plan impact the NHS workforce?
The Plan sets out an ambitious vision to strengthen and support its workforce, with the aim for the NHS to become the best employer in the public sector.
Key commitments include offering personalised career development plans for all staff, accelerating the implementation of the Messenger Review recommendations to improve leadership culture, and introducing new minimum standards for modern, flexible employment. There is a strong focus on workforce sustainability, with plans to create 1,000 new speciality training posts over the next three years and a long-term goal to reduce reliance on international recruitment to below 10 per cent by 2035.
A new 10-Year Workforce Plan, set to refresh the 2023 long-term plan, will shift the emphasis from simply expanding staff numbers to developing a more agile and skilled workforce. As with patient-centred reforms, it will be crucial to create clear feedback loops within the workforce, ensuring staff know how their input is shaping policy and practice, and that their experiences on the ground are being heard and acted upon.
Implementing the 10-Year Plan and key milestones
There is currently no formal midpoint evaluation built into the 10-Year Plan. Some upcoming key dates that are stated in the Plan include:
- July 2025 – Publish the oversight framework for 2025 to 2026, including NHS provider performance segments.
- Late 2025 – Update the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
- September 2025 – Establish NHS league tables that rank providers against key quality indications.[6]
- April 2026 – Introduce new standards of autonomy for local NHS leadership.
- 2026 – Reform the Better Care Fund.
- 2026 – Publish a new regulatory framework for medical devices including AI.
- To appoint a new Director for Patient Experience.
Background to Brevia Health
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Notes
[1] Department for Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, ‘The NHS is broken: Health and Social Care Secretary statement’, 5 July 2025, Link
[2] The King’s Fund, ‘Startling collapse in NHS satisfaction since pandemic, with just 1 in 5 satisfied’, 2 April 2025, Link
[3] Department of Health and Social Care, Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, ’10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future’, 3 July 2025, Link
[4] Department of Health and Social Care, Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, ’10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future’, 3 July 2025, Link
[5] The King’s Fund, ‘Startling collapse in NHS satisfaction since pandemic, with just 1 in 5 satisfied’, 2 April 2025, Link
[6] Department of Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, ‘Landmark NHS league tables launched to drive up standards’, 9 September 2025, Link
