NHS Long Term Plan 2023

Over the coming months, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will be refreshing the NHS Long Term Plan, which in 2019 set out a ten-year vision for the health service. The update will set out realistic goals for NHS Long Term Plan delivery, incorporating a degree of local flexibility that recognises the role of Integrated Care Boards.

The impact of COVID-19, including the need to prioritise vaccination and the urgent treatment of COVID-19 patients, has led to pressures building up elsewhere in the system. This has had a significant impact on the delivery of planned, elective care, meaning that many patients are now waiting longer for tests and treatment than they were before the pandemic began. The pandemic required the NHS to accelerate delivery of some elements of the Plan, whilst increasing challenge to deliver others. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to emerge, the Government and NHS England are working together to ensure that the commitments in the Plan reflect the context the NHS now faces.

This inaugural conference will provide the opportunity to discuss the Long Term Plan as it continues to be the guiding strategy for the NHS, setting out a far-reaching programme of speakers and key delivery departments with ambitions to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce healthcare disparities for patients, supporting everyone in England to receive high quality safe care.