The Government is currently consulting on a ‘10 Year Health Plan’ for England. As part of this, there was a call for organisational responses. The Strategy Unit’s response is at the bottom of this page. 

Behind everything we suggest is an argument about the ‘how’ of change. This is summarised by the Strategy Unit’s fundamental proposition: better evidence, better decisions, better outcomes. In our response, we therefore argue that:

“Research and analysis are a bedrock for durable improvement. Many service questions are recurring; our ability to navigate them should increase with the accumulation of evidence and experience. We must continually learn from what works and – critically - what does not…

And we see this as essential for the culture and feel of health and care services: 

“The gap between proclamation and reality is where cynicism grows. It is a gap that need not exist if a more empirical approach is taken”. 

This argument shapes the territory for the Plan we would want to see. Again, our suggestion is animated by a concern for how change is enacted – and the vital role that national policy can play: 

“The best Plan would be heavy on direction, light on detail. It would make the big decisions, navigate the broad choices and fundamental trade-offs. It would chart a course in a way that only national policy can do. And it would do all this recognising that the NHS is already over-centralised”. 

We also then make the case that better decision-making comes about through the relationship between decision-makers and skilled analysts:

“…we would like to see the Plan recognise the value of analysis. This does not mean more automated dashboards drawing on big data lakes and AI driven digital solutions. It means highly skilled analysts working closely with decision makers: understanding their questions and helping them through the answers”. 

Finally, we respond to consultation questions about the ‘three shifts’. Here we draw attention to selected findings from our work, cautioning on pitfalls and suggesting ways forward. 

To some extent, this is new territory for the Strategy Unit. While we are very used to being asked our view as part of commissioned assignments, we have never really brought our work together in this kind of way before. 

We are interested in your views. Please drop us a line - strategy.unit@nhs.net – and let us know what you think of our response.