Through open dialogue and partnerships with civil society, the UK government’s Health Mission is building a National Health Service (NHS) in England fit for the future.

The Department of Health and Social Care put in place a comprehensive engagement strategy to inform the development of the 10 Year Health Plan, which translates the thousands of insights gathered into a clear plan of action. Civil society can play a vital role in supporting the three fundamental shifts: from hospital to community, analogue to digital and treatment to prevention.

The 10 Year Health Plan includes an explicit goal to make the NHS the best possible partner and the world’s most collaborative public healthcare provider. Bottom-up and grass roots innovation is how we’ll maximise progress. Alongside setting strategy, the Plan will have an explicit goal to harness partnerships with investors, industry, local government, employers, SMEs, voluntary organisations and trade unions. Deepening the relationship with civil society partners will help deliver the 10 Year Health Plan’s aims, including by fostering a ‘neighbourhood health service’ model.

The ambition is to use a plurality of providers – from within the NHS, the voluntary sector, the independent sector and social enterprise. Where there is such rapid innovation taking place today in how services can be transformed through advances in science and technology, the government wants to broaden the eco-system of providers. For example, there is enormous potential for a wide range of providers to offer real value in the Neighbourhood Health Service. Our aim is to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, a one-stop-shop for patient care and the place from which multi-disciplinary teams operate. Neighbourhood health centres will co-locate NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services, to help create an offer that meets population needs holistically.