Changing lives-it starts with a plan

摘要

I recently attended the Chief Nursing Officer for England's Summit, where, for me, one of the most thought-provoking areas of national strategy debated was understanding where nursing leadership can influence Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs). STPs were first announced in 2015 and set out in an NHS England and NHS Improvement document (2016). The concept is well explained by The King's Fund (2017), which states that 44 areas have been set up as the geographical 'footprints' to formulate a five-year plan to deliver 'place-based' care. There is a nominated leader for each STP, all of whom have been asked to identify the key priorities for their local area. The headline issues for them to consider are how to improve quality, develop new models of care, improve health and wellbeing, improve efficiency of services, and deliver financial balance for the NHS. The plans cover all aspects of NHS spending, as well as focusing on better integration with social care and other local authority services. The King's Fund (2017) recognised that STPs represent a shift in the way that the NHS in England plans its services. It highlights that while the Health and Social Care Act 2012 sought to strengthen the role of competition within the health system, NHS organisations are now being told to collaborate rather than compete to respond to the challenges facing their local services. Cuts to social care and public health budgets also make the ambition of prioritising prevention more challenging.