The Health Foundation responds to the 10-year Health Plan
Commenting on the 10-year Health Plan published by the government on 3 July 2025, Dr Jennifer Dixon DBE, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:
‘The 10-year health plan sets out the government’s positive ambition to make the NHS sustainable for future generations. We welcome many of the changes in the plan – more integrated services, boosting primary and community care, harnessing innovation and technology, reducing health inequalities – but these are not new ideas and questions remain about how they will be implemented and whether they will be backed by sufficient resources.
‘On the face of it, proposals to develop more integrated neighbourhood health services look similar to a long line of NHS policy initiatives, and it’s unclear whether past lessons have been learned to enable the latest versions to succeed. Plans to abolish or merge a swathe of NHS bodies and change the roles of many others might promise a less fragmented structure, but the NHS risks getting lost in organisational change when it should be focused on improving patient care.
‘Without investment and reform of the threadbare social care system, or co-ordinated action to address the wider social and economic causes of ill health, the plan remains largely a vision for the NHS, rather than a plan for rebuilding the nation’s health. The government’s health mission – which promised just such an approach – is currently missing in action and in urgent need of resuscitation.
‘Technology brings hope for the future – and the plan places big bets on new innovation and an expanded role for the NHS App in delivering the government’s shift from analogue to digital. Used effectively, the NHS App has the potential to empower patients and support them to better manage their health, make processes more convenient and improve efficiency. But it is just one part of more complex changes in services and behaviours needed to bring the NHS into the 21st century – changes that fundamentally depend on the hard work and dedication of NHS staff, working with patients and the public.
‘Standing back, making the plan happen with the resources on offer will be tough. Health spending will grow by 2.8% a year in real-terms between 2025/26 and 2028/29 – lower than the historic average (3.7%) and much lower than Labour’s last period in government (6.8%). Capital investment – in buildings, equipment and IT; the stuff NHS staff need to work effectively and improve services – will grow by just 1% a year.
‘The NHS is not broken but it is in a critical condition, so we welcome the scale of the government’s ambition. We now await the concrete action needed to turn rhetoric to reality.’
Media contact
Nadine Sheikh-Sobeh
nadine.sheikh-sobeh@health.org.uk
020 8152 8120