The NHS can’t deliver a healthier society on its own.
On 5 July, the NHS will celebrate its 77th birthday.
The NHS is one of local government’s key partners – what each side does can impact the other; often positively, sometimes not.
Like local government, the NHS is in the midst of substantial change. The abolition of NHS England as well as running cost reductions for providers and integrated care boards (ICBs) will result in significant changes to how the NHS works.
For those of you who were able to join me for a recent LGA webinar with NHS England, you will have heard that the pace of change is rapid.
ICBs need to deliver savings to meet a new running cost envelope of £18.76 per head of population by December 2025, resulting in changes to both their form and functions.
Even prior to the announcements, many examples were being shared of how the financial strain on the NHS is severely hindering councils’ ability to deliver essential services and jeopardising the vital relationship between the NHS and local government.
I know that many of you share my concerns about the initial lack of local government input into the changes, but I was encouraged to hear that NHS England has recognised this and steps are in place to ensure we are at the table going forward.
Like many of you, I am eagerly awaiting the 10-year plan for health.
We welcomed its early commitment to the three shifts: from analogue to digital; from hospital to community; and from treatment to prevention.
The LGA’s Community and Wellbeing Board has shared many examples of good work already happening across these three shifts with government and NHS England – but more is needed to scale and sustain these shifts.
Vitally, resources need to flow accordingly. If our goal is for a healthier and more equal society, the NHS can’t achieve this alone.
The biggest factor in determining how long someone will live isn’t primarily how good their GP is, or how close they live to their local hospital.
Rather, it comes down to the wider environment – good education, an active role with their families and communities, contributing to the economy, and a good-quality, safe home. These are the areas where we make the difference.
Local government understands the challenges and opportunities in communities and is best-placed to develop community-based services that enable people to access the support they need, to help stay well from early years to later life.
So – happy birthday to the NHS.
We hope you have the great birthday you deserve and that the changes underway embrace what is great about the NHS while also delivering the changes we all know are needed to keep it going for another 77 years.
We are committed to working collaboratively with health partners to bring about the changes needed and to partner well so that we maintain a ruthless focus on the outcomes needed by the communities we serve.
Just don’t forget our invite to the birthday party.