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The event took place just before the highly anticipated Labour Budget, and against the backdrop of the recently announced public consultation on the NHS 10-Year Plan. More broadly, New Statesman Future of Healthcare served as a platform for insightful policy discussion and the sharing of ideas during a pivotal time for the UK health and life sciences sector.
Our five key takeaways from the event were:
Promoting health creation is critical: A ‘health creation’ approach to UK healthcare policy is critical, and should be central to a comprehensive, sector-wide strategy. This approach should not only emphasise preventative care and healthy living, but also support universities and colleges to develop professional education to meet our future needs and fundamentally shift the way in which we address the UK’s biggest health challenges.
Innovation and technology need to be supported: To boost access to technologies and medicines, it is essential to cultivate a supportive and innovative environment. When it comes to rare diseases, for example, this means creating conditions that enable the industry to conduct clinical trials effectively and allows them to seamlessly integrate new innovations into existing healthcare pathways.
Prevention is key to progression: Our system is currently set up to incentivise activity instead of prevention. Alongside cross-departmental alignment, we need to end NHS short-sightedness to truly promote prevention, which includes increasing the timeframes of NHS budgets and reintroducing public health grants.
Change comes through collaboration: A cultural shift is needed within the healthcare ecosystem to foster collaboration and develop a national consensus on improving care delivery. This will include changing the conversation around the cost of innovation and creating new deals with the life sciences industry.
Politics is preventing progress: Politics often stands in the way of real progress in health policy and the wellbeing of our nation. We need to see a renewed political will and mindset change around improving health and prosperity to turn the tide and improve patient outcomes. The Government’s emphasis on prevention in Wednesday’s Budget is a promising first step.
The UK has the potential to become a global leader in health and life sciences, and it is an incredibly exciting time for the sector. While recent signals from the Government are encouraging, the discussions at Future of Healthcare underscore the work which must be done if we are to realise this potential.