Karina Guy’s Post

Darzi Report conclusions: the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’ but can be saved, with increased general practice funding and ‘fundamental strategic shift’ required. 3 priorities: 📌 Technology - increased use of 📌 Community Care - shift from hospital 📌 Prevention (is better than cure) The report argued that ‘care should be delivered in the community’, closer to where people live and work, and that hospitals ‘should be reserved for specialist care’. It said that there must be ‘a shift’ in the distribution of resources towards community-based primary care services. It added: ‘It builds on the fact that general practice is how most people commonly interact with the health service and GPs’ expertise as generalists. ‘Indeed, research by the NHS Confederation has demonstrated that spending in primary and community settings had a superior return on investment when compared with acute hospital services. ‘It therefore makes sense that this should be the fundamental strategic shift that the NHS aspires to make.’ #GeneralPractice #Health 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ehx2nrCZ

The NHS is still alive, but we should all be concerned... Here's hoping that we're not just getting a diagnosis, but a prognosis. We'd all like to know the direction of travel and when the NHS will be in better health. Lord Darzi's report, released today, has made it clear that for Patients, access to services has been more challenging and got worse over the past 10-15 years. Trouble with accessing basically every service the NHS should be offering and improving. It's also shown that the 2012 Act has caused an endless reconfiguration of the NHS, which has distracted management from focussing on productivity and delivery of core services. For the workforce, who genuinely care about their patients, they've just seen everything around them crumble due to lack of capital investment, waiting lists grow due to massive shifts in workforce, so the growth in hospital based staff has just about coped with the additional demands of increase complexity, increased long term health challenges and significant increases in the number of children and young people needed acute care. There's been significant growth of regulators (many many more per hospital than there used to be), but reductions in community healthcare staffing which is the only enabler of flow out of hospitals which makes the capacity to care for the most acutely unwell possible. What does all this mean? Well - the report is light on policy recommendations because it was explicitly restricted from making them - but hopefully it means that the government will acknowledge what has been talked about for a very long time by everyone in health and care services, which is significant investment in care at home, out of the hospital and sorting out the desperate shortage of capital investment in both technology and buildings. #nhs #dhsc #lorddarzi #nhsengland #workforce #health #socialcare #primarycare https://lnkd.in/eDrp9Q9v

https://lnkd.in/ewkpVsji The ME Association is one of 15 organisations that continues to support the #ThereForME initiative, a patient-and carer-led campaign that calls for an NHS that’s there for people with ME and Long Covid.  In August of this year, we were pleased the new Labour government stated that they are committed to publishing the Department of Health and Social Care Delivery Plan on ME/CFS. The dissemination of the information, including recommendations for research, could be seen as one of the first steps towards transforming health and social care. However, as highlighted in this article the issues patients face need to be addressed, and further action and commitment from the government at the highest level is urgently required for healthcare reform. #mecfs #nhs #longcovid

Lord Darzi's report is published today. He was commissioned by DHSC to conduct an "immediate and independent" investigation of the NHS. His conclusion is that the NHS is in "serious trouble". There will be a 10 year health plan forthcoming which will focus on the following: * Re-engage staff and re-empower patients. * Lock in the shift of care closer to home by hardwiring financial flows. * Simplify and innovate care delivery for a neighbourhood NHS. * Drive productivity in hospitals. * Tilt towards technology. * Contribute to the nation’s prosperity. * Reform to make the structure deliver.

The long awaited report about the state of the NHS by Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham OM KBE PC FRS was published this morning. full report here https://lnkd.in/eZz7PPdx Great to see that several pieces of analysis my colleagues at Edge Health UK have undertaken for and with amongst others NHS England, Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), the Children's Hospital Alliance and Beamtree have directly been quoted in the report outlining some of the difficulty the NHS is in (especially when it comes to children's health) but also some of the opportunity (especially where it comes to digital and data). The key take-aways are what we already know - the NHS is not coping. Focus has to be on digitising the health service, focussing spend toward community care, and focussing on prevention. The good news is that I think the political will and evidence are aligning (the report has 300 pages of charts in the Annex!) - lets hope it is enough!

A report titled the 'Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England' was recently released. Unsurprisingly, the NHS was described as being in a "critical condition", with misaligned leadership and structure, ineffective healthcare spending and neglect of the social determinants of health leading to inequitable health outcomes, poor access to healthcare (especially preventative and primary care) and deteriorating trust and confidence in the healthcare system. Worryingly, strong parallels exist between drivers of performance within the NHS and in Australia's healthcare system. For example, the lack of investment in primary and preventative care has led to significant declines in bulk billing in General Practice and access to a General Practitioner, rocketing presentations to Emergency Departments, extended wait times, healthcare worker burnout and poor health outcomes. For years, those in the healthcare professions have been raising awareness and calling for change while 'bandaid' solutions have instead been implemented. ACEM's 'State of Emergency 2022' report is one such example of a call to action, but many of the problems identified continue to worsen. This report into the state of the NHS is another grim reminder that significant action needs to be taken by policy makers in Australia to address the current healthcare crisis. Instead of politically 'flashy' announcements, true solutions will need to be informed by data, best practices in comparable systems, and collaboration with the healthcare professions to safeguard the health of the system and of the nation. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Victorian Department of Health Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England: https://lnkd.in/gxfpn6ye

📝 The good, the tough and the urgent: Key takeaways from Lord Darzi's report on the NHS 🏥 The Independent Investigation of the NHS in England by Lord Darzi is a mix of hope and hard truths. As someone working closely with and passionate about our healthcare systems, I found it a sobering yet motivating read. What struck me most wasn't just the call for "quality of care" or "data-driven decisions" (though these are essential) — it was the recognition that real change comes with listening to the people who live and breathe healthcare every day: our staff. Some of my key takeaways: 🌟 The good: • Frontline staff as change agents: It’s clear—the people working at the coalface of healthcare are the key to improvement. The report recognises the need for staff to be more engaged in decision-making. • Data-driven insights: Technology and real-time data are set to play a massive role in reshaping the NHS. 🚨 The tough: • Quality of care is suffering: Quality of care needs to be re-established as the NHS's organising principle. Staff burnout, long waiting times, and inconsistent patient experiences show that there's a long way to go. This isn't a quick fix, but it's the necessary focus. • Workforce pressures: With staff shortages and morale at an all-time low, the NHS faces an uphill battle. Engaging staff in meaningful ways has never been more crucial. 🔍 The Urgent: • Sustainable funding & long-term planning: The report makes it clear—without sustainable funding and strategic resource management, short-term fixes won’t cut it. Innovation and investment must go hand in hand to ensure the NHS isn’t just surviving but thriving. There’s no denying the enormity of the task ahead, but with frontline-driven change, data-led decisions, and a focus on quality, there’s a path forward. At ImproveWell, we’re excited to continue playing our part in supporting healthcare teams as they tackle these challenges head-on. https://lnkd.in/eDrp9Q9v #NHSReform #EmpoweredHealthcare #ImproveWell #HealthcareChallenges #FrontlineInnovation #DarziReport

🏥 UK Government Launches Groundbreaking Initiative To Transform NHS: A 10-Year Vision For Community-Based, Digital And Preventative Healthcare 🏥 The UK government has launched the most extensive national conversation about the NHS since its creation, inviting the public, NHS staff and health experts to contribute their ideas on shaping its future. Through an online platform - change.nhs.UK - available until early 2025, participants can share their views on what needs improvement and how to address current challenges. This feedback will be crucial in shaping the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, set to be published in spring 2025. The plan will centre on three major shifts in healthcare: moving care from hospitals to communities, transitioning from analogue to digital systems, and shifting the focus from treating illness to preventing it. Find out more and have you say on the future of the NHS here – https://lnkd.in/gTN6WkX4 #NHS #NHSConsultation #ChangeNHS #Healthcare #HealthConditionsOfDisability #DisabledPatients #UKPolitics #UKGovernment #HaveYourSay

Independent report Independent investigation of the NHS in England Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England. In July 2024, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned Lord Darzi to conduct an immediate and independent investigation of the NHS. Lord Darzi’s report provides an expert understanding of the current performance of the NHS across England and the challenges facing the healthcare system. Lord Darzi has considered the available data and intelligence to assess: patient access to healthcare the quality of healthcare being provided the overall performance of the health system https://lnkd.in/eNpkgJ2h

I've had now the chance to have a glimpse into the summary letter from Lord Darzi to the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care (independent report) and I have a couple of comments to offer, as an "allied" professional (as they like to call us) and as a patient. I would also like to hear from the people who work or have worked within any NHS setting, what they make of this report. https://lnkd.in/eHRTRfkF So, I'm sad to say that what's being reported here doesn't come as a surprise to me at all. The poor condition of at least Primary Care in the NHS is common knowledge to patients, healthcare professionals and anybody who's paid some attention to the state of affairs, to be honest. I would go as far as to say that, probably, the report is somewhat benevolent in some instances with the real situation the NHS finds itself in. Special attention is required for point 13 of this summary letter: "The NHS budget is not being spent where it should be – too great a share is being spent in hospitals, too little in the community, and productivity is too low" "Too many people end up in hospital, because too little is spent in the community. Many people will have experienced congested A&E departments themselves. If you had arrived at a typical A&E on a typical evening in 2009, there would have been just under 40 people ahead of you in the queue. By 2024, that had swelled to more than 100 people. This is because we have underinvested in the community." It then goes to relate the reduction on number of GPs, community nurses and other professionals, however, I will go even further than that, which is something that seems to be unconceivable within the NHS paradox, namely, the need for a true PREVENTION PLAN for the community. Often relegated to Public Health, the real primary care should happen as a way of preventing disease and not what the current Primary Care sector faces: symptom and pharmacology management. Until the shift in the paradox happens, I don't believe the situation will ever improve. For this situation to happen, the education that healthcare professionals receive should also change and that, in my opinion, is a bigger talk yet than the one in hand today. #NHS #reportonNHSperformance #lorddarzi #healthandsocialcare