A new AFHS publication argues that the NHS needs to escape the "gravitational pull of the existing system". The situation is urgent: there is a rise in numbers of people with long-term conditions, and the era of high NHS spending increases is coming to an abrupt end.
AFHS sets out a very different approach: how the NHS can start a transition to
better services at lower cost. The key move is to shift from high-cost hospital services
to lower-cost out-of-hospital services which can organise early diagnosis, continuity of
care and personal contact rather than a place on a waiting list.
The report recommends four changes that will make visible change in two years and build momentum and confidence for the future:
- Stronger neighbourhood teams that can reduce emergency admissions by 10 per cent by April 2027.
- Local responsibility for waiting lists to deliver the 18-week target by April 2027.
- New accessible funding for improvement so mean that 50 per cent of repairs are carried out within two years (April 2027) and capital programmes for integrated care services have started (and completed April 2030).
- Use the abolition of NHS England to achieve clear local management initiative within two years (April 2027).
Senior team
Professor Nick Bosanquet
Nick was until recently Professor of Health Policy at Imperial College London. He is a former special adviser to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee and member of the Government Cancer Strategy Group. He is a trustee of the charity Brendoncare, which provides care homes, independent housing and care and friendship clubs
Andrew Haldenby
Andrew has been a key figure in the Westminster and Whitehall policy debate for the last 25 years. He was head of the political section of the Conservative Research Department, a position previously held by David Cameron and George Osborne. Most recently he was director of the think tank Reform for 14 years