In the sixth of the Gateway to Local Adoption series, Visions4Health’s Head of Client Services, Jonny Savage, shares his views on how life sciences-NHS partnerships can turn the 10 Year Health Plan for England into an actionable roadmap for meaningful change.
The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan may set an ambitious vision, but it stops short of being a true roadmap. So why not leverage the life sciences sector to help define the plan? The pharmaceutical sector has the insight, connections, and innovation needed to turn vision into action – supporting localities and clinical specialties to deliver meaningful change.
In his Keynote at NHS ConfedExpo this year, NHS England CEO Jim Mackey emphasised that, to release the ambition for change, he wants “people to get out so far in front of us, at the centre, that we’re struggling to keep up with you”. Yet the NHS faces a perfect storm of pressures: shifting responsibilities, organisational mergers, and the relentless drive to recover elective services and improve urgent and emergency care, so it’s clear why headroom for innovation is limited.
This is precisely where industry can make a difference: by joining local conversations and offering pragmatic, partnership-led solutions that bring the 10-year vision closer to reality. That spirit of collaborative problem solving can already be seen in the ambition to eliminate hepatitis C, where NHS England and three pharmaceutical companies came together to proactively identify and treat those who may be unaware they have hepatitis C. This married a targeted intervention with a shared public health goal.
To help make partnership easy and impactful, industry can:
- Share insight on local challenges and priorities.
- Get into the detail – work to understand the root of the problem.
- Think pragmatically about how your support can accelerate progress.
Take cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the drive towards neighbourhood health as another example. A recent pilot explored point-of-care screening for CVD risk in the community, outside of traditional care settings, and managed to identify a significant treatment gap. With the potential demonstrated for more community-based care, industry could consider the skills, data or resources needed to help deliver sustainable pathway change for lasting impact.
Industry can do more than showcase good practice; it can work in partnership to help define the blueprint. By aligning innovation with local needs, we can turn the 10 Year Health Vision into the 10 Year Health Plan the NHS needs.
Jonny Savage, Head of Client Services, brings over 10 years of experience to Visions4Health from across the NHS, third sector, and local government, where he held policy and public affairs, strategy, and management roles. This includes six years at NHS England, where he worked across both the Accelerated Access Collaborative and National Cancer Transformation Programme. Jonny is passionate about the role of innovation in improving care for patients, and has expertise in cancer policy, health innovation policy, population health management and adoption of new medicines.
