Delivering the Forward View

 The Spending Review in November 2015 provided the NHS in England with a credible basis on which to accomplish three interdependent and essential tasks: first, to implement the Five Year Forward View; second, to restore and maintain financial balance; and third, to deliver core access and quality standards for patients. It included an £8.4 billion real terms increase by 2020/21, front-loaded in 2016/17. With these resources, we now need to close the health and wellbeing gap, the care and quality gap, and the finance and efficiency gap. 

Delivering the Forward View: NHS planning guidance 2016/17-2020/21 was published by the six national NHS bodies on 22^nd December 2015. It can be found here. The document sets out a clear list of national priorities for 2016/17 and longer-term challenges for local systems, together with financial assumptions and business rules. It reflects the settlement reached with the Government through its new Mandate to NHS England. For the first time, the Mandate is not solely for the commissioning system, but sets objectives for the NHS as a whole. The guidance requires the NHS to produce two separate but connected plans:

• a five year Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), place-based and driving the Five Year Forward View; and
• a one year Operational Plan for 2016/17, organisation-based but consistent with the emerging STP.

NHS Halton CCG is already working with partners to start work on a STP that is consistent with the One Halton approach and covers three levels – (i) the Halton health and care economy, (ii) Halton and neighbouring health and care economies and (iii) Liverpool City Region. This is our chance to build on our achievements of recent years and move at pace to transform health and care services so that they improve health outcomes, provide excellent levels of quality and are financially and clinically sustainable. In short, we must deliver the Five Year Forward View – there is no other option.

Simon Banks