Everything you need to know about the government's new NHS 10-year plan
The NHS must transform in three distinct ways if it is to continue saving lives for years to come, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
This morning, the government has published its 10-Year Plan, setting out how exactly it aims to make the health service in England fit for the future.
The 168-page document was unveiled by the Prime Minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting at a Health & Wellbeing Centre in Stratford, east London.
Many governments have set out long-term strategies to fix the NHS, but Streeting said staff were still 'crying out' for fundamental changes.
Here's what you need to know about the plans.
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This plan was first announced in September last year, after Lord Darzi published his scathing report into the current state of the health service in England.
Initially, the government said it would be coming in spring this year, but instead it's taken until deep into the summer to pull it together.
As Darzi suggested in his report, the focus of the plan is on three key areas of change.
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The first change is moving the NHS from a service that relies heavily on physical documents to one running on a much faster digital system.
One of the foundations of this approach will be the NHS app, which the government wants to turn into a 'world-leading tool for patient access, empowerment and care planning'.
Under the plans, patients will be able to use the app to get medical advice, choose their preferred provider, manage medicines, book vaccines, upload health data and co-ordinate a relative's care.
Streeting also wants to increase the use of tech such as AI scribes to 'liberate staff from their current burden of bureaucracy and administration'.
Another planned shift is from the current hospital-centric model of the NHS to one that places a heavier focus on care in local communities – what the government calls the 'Neighbourhood Health Service'.
Over the next three to four years, the share of health spending that goes towards hospitals will fall while investment in out-of-hospital care will proportionally increase.
There's a pledge to open a neighbourhood health centre, open at least 12 hours a day and 6 days a week, in every community in England – starting in the places where healthy life expectancy is lowest.
The system of hospital outpatients will end 'as we know it' by 2035, the plan says, as more urgent care is delivered in the community.
The third change will be from a focus on healing the sick to stopping people from becoming sick in the first place.
That involves launching a 'moonshot to end the obesity epidemic', with plans for mandatory targets for the healthiness of sales in the food sector and scaling up the use of weight-loss jabs like Mounjaro.
Speaking to the Sun, Streeting said the jabs are 'a route not just to lower weight, but lower taxes', since people will become less reliant on the NHS as they lose weight.
This element of the plan also includes the ban on those currently aged under 17 from ever being legally able to buy cigarettes; new standards for alcohol labelling; and boosting uptake of HPV vaccinations. More Trending
The Department of Health said this goal would be achieved by 'harnessing a huge cross-societal energy on prevention'.
This morning, Keir Starmer praised Rachel Reeves – making her first public appearance since crying at PMQs yesterday – for her work preparing the ground for the transformation.
He said: 'It's all down to the foundation we laid this year, all down to the path of renewal that we chose, the decisions made by the Chancellor, by Rachel Reeves, which mean we can invest record amounts in the NHS.'
But the Chancellor faces extreme pressure to find savings, and the large amount of funding needed for such profound change in the health service could prove a challenge.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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She swears by the root spray for covering her scalp to "hide the fact she has thin hair on the top". And she insists it is both sweat-proof and waterproof if you go swimming. She added: "It lasts for ages, I had to wash my hair multiple times to show how thin I am. I just do a light touch up here and there." Yasmine took to TikTok (@yasminefagerson) to show just how effective the bargain product is with a quick hair tutorial. In the clip, she said: "When I tell people I have thin hair on the top, they're always like, no you don't. "This is me out of the shower, I've washed it really well and this is because I normally use root spray to cover my head so I don't look bald. But as you can see from here, that is a very thin head. "So I'm going to do my hair and then I'm going to show you what I do to hide it." 5 Yasmine revealed she always dries and straightens her hair as normal, before generously applying the root spray to the thin patch on the top of her head. After she's sprayed it, she uses her hairdryer and a large paddle brush to set the product and style her hair. And the results are incredible, with her locks looking instantly thicker and fuller. "Look how much better that is already. I feel so much more confident and happy with my hair", she gushed. "So yes, that is my insecurity but this little thing helps with it massively. So if anyone else has got this kind of problem, have a wee check out of the root spray because it is amazing. "I normally buy it off Amazon but I actually went to the website this time because they didn't have my colour and I'm using the dark brown for obvious reasons." SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT Yasmine's video quickly racked up 11,000 views and proved a huge comfort for other women who struggle with insecurities over their thinning hair. One exclaimed: "WOW would never have known, lots of people suffer with this, myself included." "Looks great, it makes it look so thick", insisted a second. 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Be wary of too many chemicals in your styling products as they can exacerbate hair loss - and you should also not wash it too often. 'To ensure your hair stays healthy it is important not to over wash it,' advises Jack. 'Instead try and limit washing your hair to two or three times a week. "Use a gentle shampoo and conditioner to make sure you do not remove any moisture.' Hair expert reveals how to repair damaged hair TINA Farey, Editorial director at Rush Hair, shares her advice… HOW TO RESTORE DAMAGED HAIR Whilst you can't fully reserve the effects of damaged hair, you can stop the problem from growing. Depending on the condition of your hair, I'd recommend getting a trim every six to eight weeks - this will prevent any split ends from travelling further up the hair shaft, which weakens the hair's overall structure and leads to more breakage. Even just an inch of the ends will completely transform the appearance of your hair – trust me. When it comes to products to help restore damaged hair, Goldwell's Rich Repair Treatment Mask is a firm favourite – strengthening damaged locks to be healthy and shiny once again. HOW TO PREVENT DAMAGE My number one tip is to always use a heat protectant – even if you're only blow-drying your hair. Consistent heat styling without one will leave your hair open to heat damage. I'd also recommend refraining from over-washing your hair as this can strip the hair of its natural oils – nobody wants a dry and irritated scalp! And finally, swap your sleek, slick back for a hair down day! They may be in fashion at the moment, but over time all that tension on your strands from being pulled will wreak havoc on your hair follicles – this could lead to thinning and bald spots in areas where the hair is constantly pulled.
