Picker responds to the publication of the NHS ten year plan

Commenting on the publication of the NHS ten year plan for health, Chris Graham, Group CEO at Picker, said:

“Today is a big day for the NHS, its staff, patients, and the wider public as the curtains are drawn back on the government’s blueprint for NHS reform and its central ambition to ‘build an NHS fit for the future’.

“We have known since the ten year plan was first announced that the three shifts would lie at its heart, but it is reassuring to see further detail as to how these shifts can become reality. It is particularly welcome to see patients front and centre throughout the plan, building on the engagement that supported its development. It is essential that this engagement continues – and that this commitment to ‘patient power’ remains undiminished – as the plan is implemented over the next decade.  

“We called for the ten year plan to deliver on overdue personalised care plans, that were first promised in 2006 and recommitted to in the 2019 Long Term Plan. Progress has been slow, as the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSCs) press statement last night noted. Personalised care planning is the cornerstone of coordinated care for people with multiple conditions, so delivery of the 95% target by 2027 is essential.

“Amongst the most eye-catching patient experience announcements is the proposal to pilot ‘Patient Power Payments’. While this demonstrates a welcome commitment to empowering patients, there are questions to be answered about how this would function technically and what risks and unintended consequences might arise. Any measure would have to be high quality and defensible, so it is welcome to see aspirations for patient reported outcome and experience measures to play a more central role in the plan.

“We welcome the commitment to making patient feedback core to a new approach to quality. The plan’s focus on patient voice, coupled with the planned closure of Healthwatch England and its local branches, mean that DHSC, integrated care boards (ICBs), and providers will all need clear leadership and access to expertise around understanding, measuring, and improving people’s experiences of care.

“We are pleased to see the plan announce there will be a National Director of Patient Experience within DHSC, which is important for accountability and ensuring a focus on person centred care across the department, and hopefully, across government. Whilst we expect further details of the scope of this role to follow, it will be key for the National Director to engage with experts by lived experience and from the third sector from the outset. The Government should also consider supporting the establishment of a national centre for excellence on patient experience to empower NHS organisations around the country – something that Picker has long advocated.

“Overall, there are many things to like – but we cannot forget that similar shifts and initiatives have been proposed in previous NHS transformation plans across recent decades. While the NHS was seen as a winner in the recent comprehensive spending review and reforms may result in savings in the long term, commentary from the Nuffield Trust shows that finances remain tight. Asking reforms to do much of the heavy lifting after the NHS has experienced many years of underfunding will be challenging.

“A laser focus on delivery is key to realising this plan, but there is a risk that restructuring will prove to be a time-consuming and difficult task. For both staff and patients, it is essential that these changes are as minimally disruptive as possible. Patients, the public and staff have made clear that they are desperate for change. The focus must now be on the plan’s delivery and making the patient king.”  

Notes to editors

• Picker is an international charity working across health and social care. Established in the US in 1987 and UK in 2000, our work is at the forefront of understanding the link between patient experience, person centred care, and clinical excellence.  We believe in high quality person centred care for all, always.  

• Picker’s response to the Change NHS consultation outlined what we wanted to see in the ten year plan.

• Picker published a blog on the importance of personalised care plans in response to Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS in October 2024.

• For media enquiries, please contact the Marketing and Communications team at pressoffice@pickereurope.ac.uk.