The NWL Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP)

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) have just been submitted by NHS organisations in different parts of the country outlining the future of health and care services in their area. Ours involves the whole of North West London and involves the NHS services and the Local Authorities planning ways in which they hope to come together to deliver health and care in a more intelligent and integrated way, bridging the gap between social care and health services. 

One of the principle themes now is cooperation rather than competition, which has  driven the way we work over the last 4 years (in, some would say, a very destructive and dysfunctional way). The other themes are, of course, diminishing resources - both money and people - and rising and changing patterns of demand and how to provide good quality care under these circumstances. 

There will be a lot of re-balancing budgets and reshaping the types of services offered. There is simply no possibility of carrying on in the current way.

The plan is for 5 years and covers 9 priorities: 

1. Support people who are mainly healthy to stay mentally and physically well, enabling and empowering them to make healthy choices and look after themselves 
2. Improve children’s mental and physical health and wellbeing
3. Reduce health inequalities and unequal outcomes for the top three killers: cancer, heart diseases and respiratory illness 
4. Reduce social isolation 
5. Reduce unfair variation in the management of long-term conditions – diabetes, cardio vascular disease and respiratory disease
6.  Ensure people access the right care in the right place at the right time 
7. Improve the quality of care for people in their last phase of life, enabling them to die in their place of choice
8. Reduce the gap in life expectancy between adults with serious and long-term mental health needs and the rest of the population 
9. Ensure services and experiences are of a high quality every day of the week 

And 5 delivery areas:

1. Improving your health and wellbeing
2. Better care for people with longterm conditions
3.  Better care for older people
4. Improving mental health services 
5. Safe, high quality sustainable services 

Probably not many would disagree with these but how is the plan going to be achieved?  A 9 page summary can be viewed here  and for the brave, the complete plan can be viewed  here .