Trusts set to drive NHS transformation, but extra funding essential, report finds

NHS Providers calls the upcoming 10-year health plan a key opportunity to expand preventative, patient-centred and community-based models of care      

A new report has highlighted that while NHS trusts are well placed to drive the new Labour government’s desired healthcare transformation, additional resources are essential to fully realise this vision.

Published by NHS Providers, the report explored how trusts are innovating and adapting to deliver the three key shifts outlined by the government: from hospital to community-based cafe, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.

Titled “Providers Deliver: shifting care upstream,” the report cited some successful approaches trusts have taken to ensure patients can get the care they need in the right place at the right time.

Examples include:

• Tackling the wider determinants of health to improve patient flow  - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Reducing demand for emergency care by providing support at home – East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Improving mental health crisis care from the ground up – North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
• Harnessing a culture of continuous improvement to deliver care in the right place – Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
• Taking the next step from hospital at home to early intervention – Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

The report suggested that the upcoming 10-year health plan offers a chance to further expand this preventative, patient-centred and community-based models of care.

However, it stressed the need for national investment in primary and community care to support NHS trusts and partners in meeting rising demand and ensuring care is delivered effectively.

Sir Julian Hartley, CEO of NHS Providers, noted that trusts are already aligning with the three shifts of the new government in many ways.

"The examples here highlight how they are really driving forward the ‘left shift’ and increasing the amount of patient need that is being met within the community and out of hospital.

"By working across organisational boundaries, including with primary care, and partnering with the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and social care, NHS trusts are better serving their local populations and achieving more for taxpayers.”

Hartley emphasised that with adequate national funding, NHS trusts can continue to innovate and provide early-stage care closer to patients' homes.

"The forthcoming 10-year plan for health presents an opportunity to develop and embed this approach.

"But it will require national investment in and prioritisation of primary and community care to hardwire the changes we all want to see,” he added.

The report also underscored the need for prioritised investment in digital infrastructure, modernising healthcare facilities, and workforce support to achieve this shift.