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Report

Implementing the NHS five year forward view: aligning policies with the plan

A new paper from The King’s Fund calls for fundamental changes to how health services are commissioned, paid for and regulated to deliver the vision of the NHS five year forward view.

The Forward View, published in 2014 by NHS England and other national bodies to broad approval, outlined how NHS services must change to move towards the care models required for the future. England, it argued, is too diverse for ‘one size fits all’ solutions.

However, without significant changes to policy and new approaches to NHS leadership, this paper warns that the Forward View could suffer the same fate as many other NHS policy documents – and fail to deliver on its ambitions.

In describing the changes required, the paper focuses on key areas in which The King’s Fund has particular expertise, namely:

  • how services are commissioned and paid for

  • regulating the NHS

  • how local leaders deliver improvements in care

  • the contribution of a transformation fund.

The paper makes practical recommendations on what to do now to remove barriers to developing new care models and to support their implementation. Looking ahead, it argues that national leadership of the highest order will be needed to meet the challenges inherent in delivering these changes.

Chris Ham: implementing the NHS five year forward view

Chris Ham, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, talks through the key findings of our report, Implementing the NHS five year forward view.