Government’s 10-Year Plan to Make NHS “Fit for the Future”
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has announced the government’s new 10-Year Health Plan for England, called Fit for the Future. Speaking in the House of Commons on 3 July 2025, Mr Streeting described the plan as a major step in rebuilding the National Health Service and ensuring it is able to meet the needs of patients throughout the 21st century.
He told MPs that just as the founding of the NHS in 1948 was a choice based on fairness, this generation has the responsibility to renew that principle by reshaping healthcare to focus on access, quality and prevention.
Three Key Shifts
At the centre of the plan are three broad changes: moving care from hospitals into communities, transforming the NHS from analogue to digital, and shifting focus from sickness to prevention.
From hospital to community:
The plan will see the NHS evolve into what Mr Streeting described as a Neighbourhood Health Service. The approach means that care should be delivered as close to home as possible. Where appropriate, consultations will take place digitally or in people’s homes. Neighbourhood Health Centres will be set up in every community, bringing together GPs, nurses, physiotherapists, therapists, care workers and other professionals under one roof. These centres will also provide access to tests, scans and treatment for minor injuries.
Pharmacies will take on a wider role by managing long-term conditions, providing treatment for common illnesses, offering screening and delivering vaccinations. The government will also reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to carry out NHS work and strengthen access to dentistry.
The plan aims to make it easier to see a GP, with same-day consultations and the return of the family doctor model. More GPs will be trained and recruited to the frontline. Patients with complex needs will have personal care plans developed with them to ensure that treatment is coordinated.
Over time, the majority of outpatient appointments currently taking place in hospitals will move into the community. Funding will follow this shift, with a greater share of NHS resources directed to primary and community services.
From analogue to digital:
The government intends to modernise technology within the NHS. A single patient record will be created for each individual, allowing clinicians to access medical histories and reducing duplication. Patients will be able to view and control their records securely.
Wearable devices will feed health information directly into systems, allowing clinicians to monitor patients remotely and respond at the first sign of problems. The NHS App will be developed into a central access point for services. Patients will be able to book and rearrange appointments, refer themselves to specialists where appropriate, seek advice through artificial intelligence tools, book urgent care slots, and give feedback on services.
The plan is designed to remove administrative burdens from staff, ensuring they spend less time logging in to multiple systems or entering data, and more time providing care.
From sickness to prevention:
Prevention will be a key focus, with new measures to encourage healthier lifestyles and identify risks earlier. The NHS will work with the food industry to reduce calorie consumption, while access to obesity treatments will be expanded. A new NHS Points scheme will encourage physical activity. School food standards will be updated to ensure children receive nutritious meals.
In mental health, support will be embedded in schools to identify issues early. Virtual therapists will be available 24 hours a day for those with moderate needs, and specialist emergency departments will provide dedicated help for people in crisis.
Innovation and Science
Mr Streeting highlighted the role of innovation in shaping the next decade of healthcare. Advances in artificial intelligence, data analysis and robotics will be adopted across the service. Regulatory processes at NICE and the MHRA will be reformed to speed up the introduction of new medicines and treatments.
Robotic surgery will be expanded for certain procedures, helping patients to recover at home more quickly. Genomic testing will be made available to every newborn baby by 2035, supporting early identification of health conditions.
Investment and Reform
The 10-Year Plan is backed by an additional £29 billion a year by the end of the spending review period, as well as significant capital investment.
Alongside funding, structural reforms will be introduced. More than 200 national bodies will be abolished, with responsibilities returned to the NHS. Patient safety, complaints and whistleblowing processes will be managed directly by the health service. Performance will be monitored through published league tables, and failing providers will face intervention. A reformed foundation trust model will create a system of earned autonomy, linking pay to performance.
Block contracts will end, with funding tied to outcomes and productivity encouraged through revised tariffs. Investment will also focus on addressing health inequalities by targeting working-class communities.
National Initiatives
The plan includes the establishment of a National Investigation into maternity and neonatal services, aimed at delivering justice and improvements for bereaved families.
Mr Streeting emphasised that NHS staff and patients have been central to the development of the plan. He said that while some believe the health service resists change, staff on the frontline are calling for it and are already piloting new approaches in different regions.
Looking Ahead
The Secretary of State concluded by stating that the plan seeks to restore the founding promise of the NHS: to be available to everyone when they need it. He said that if successful, this generation will be able to claim that it built an NHS “fit for the future” and a fairer health system for all.
