We all know that the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector plays a crucial role in addressing the social determinants of health for communities across Wakefield District, so the publication of the NHS 10 Year Plan is a very important moment.

This major policy sets out how NHS services will transform over the next decade, outlining key national expectations around reducing costs, bringing care closer to home, prioritising prevention, and tackling deep-rooted health inequalities.

What’s in the Plan?

NAVCA, the national membership body for infrastructure organisations like Nova, has provided a short summary:

• The Plan sets out a reform agenda to address the NHS’s ongoing crisis, rebuild public trust, and secure sustainability. It proposes a ‘radical reimagining’ of the NHS, retaining its founding principles but fundamentally transforming how care is delivered.
• The Plan sets out strong, bold ambitions with accountable targets and clear timelines built in. This marks a notable shift towards delivery-focused reform. 
• However, the Plan appears to signal a shift away from the VCSE sector and an integrated care model with cross-sector collaboration at its heart. Engagement with ICS-VCSE Alliances and the local VCSE sector is placed more firmly in the hands of individual system, and places, while the reduction of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) adds a further layer of disruption, risking the progress made in many systems. 
• Additionally, the abolition of Healthwatch raises questions about the presence of an independent patient and community voice to hold the new NHS to account.

We’d encourage you to read more in NAVCA’s 6 page summary. Find the full plan on the GOV.UK website, with an Easy Read version available too.

What did West Yorkshire think?

Locally, the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WYHCP) has been gathering insight from people and communities about what matters most. Their findings helped shape national recommendations, and the WY HCP will now start developing local three-year plans in line with this national direction.

WY HCP have summarised the insights from their consultation:

• The shift from hospital to community-based care is seen as a good idea, with participants highlighting that it is complex and needs investment and proper planning so that patients and staff can trust the new way of working.
• A move from analogue to digital was seen to have potential to make a huge difference to staff and patients. The main ask from participants was that systems talk to each other, and improved access to patient records.
• Shifting from treating sickness to preventing sickness was recognised as a very different approach to healthcare, not limited to reducing demand. Participants highlighted the investment needed in community-based collaborations with the VCSE sector.

WY HCP have said further analysis will be reported. Read more about their consultation and ongoing work.

What happens next?

The role of the VCSE sector as an equal partner in the work of WY HCP has been cemented since 2022, and Nova will continue to actively work with this partnership to understand how these reforms will impact your organisation and advocate for the important contribution of the VCSE sector in delivering health and care services.

We will continue to work alongside VCSE partners, your VCSE Advocates, NHS colleagues and local authorities to make sure that the voices of the VCSE sector and communities across Wakefield District are represented and heard in this conversation.

The NHS Integrated Care Board is preparing for internal transformation. A new model for Integrated Care Boards is being shaped nationally, and West Yorkshire will be consulting on local structures and functions from early September. A series of workshops and engagement sessions with local partners - including councils, the VCSE sector, and provider organisations - will take place over the summer to shape this together.

Healthwatch Wakefield have released a statement about their future, emphasising that changes will take time and require new legislation to passthrough Parliament. In the meantime, they are continuing to operate locally to make sure the voices of individuals and communities remains central to shaping services.

We will continue to share any updates as they are announced.