On the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service, GK Strategic Advisor and former Minister of State for Care Services, Phil Hope, reflects on the NHS in its current form and looks ahead to how the UK’s major political parties will position their offering for the health system.
The NHS at 75 represents a remarkable opportunity to examine this proud organisation, and the next 18 months will divide it into two very different external environments for leaders and the staff who work within it. Within the system itself, the remainder of 2023 will provide good opportunities to illuminate and accelerate best practice as the new Integrated Care Systems bed in, and organisations can seek to influence the health manifestos being developed this year by each of the main political parties.
In contrast, 2024 will see the NHS kicked about as a political football in the run-up to what is likely to be a feisty general election. It won’t feel pleasant as the political parties promote their different ‘offers’ to the electorate whilst denigrating the performance or policies of their opponents. The ongoing disputes over NHS pay, increasingly long waiting lists, and a struggling primary care service are all issues unlikely to be solved soon. As such, the debate between the two main parties will be highly charged, with selective use of facts, use of emotional personal stories, and potentially veering into intemperate accusation and counteraccusations. Labour will always view the NHS as a vote winner, whilst the Conservatives would be happy with a score-draw in the battle of the political narratives on health as they continue to find solutions to current problems.
But before then, there is much that can be done to consolidate the changes underway and to help shape policies and priorities before election fever takes over. Away from politics, hard work is needed now to fully embed the new paradigm of health and prosperity, integrated health and social care, and population health improvement.
The new structures, purpose and priorities of our new health and care system are still in the development phase in many areas, so it is important that we move quickly to complete the building of a robust and reliable platform for the future, irrespective of whoever holds the keys to Downing Street next year.
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