[Viewpoint] The NHS 10-year plan: between aspiration and implementation

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Source: The Lancet

Original: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00035-8/fullt...

Published: 2026-01-22T23:30:01Z

In July 2025, the British government published a 10-year plan for the National Health Service (NHS) for England, which focuses on three major changes in the health sector[1][2]. The first change consists in moving care from hospitals to communities through the creation of Health Centers in each community that will be open at least 12 hours a day, six days a week[1]. The second change involves digitizing healthcare to make the NHS the most digitally accessible healthcare system in the world[4]. The third change focuses on disease prevention with an emphasis on tobacco, obesity, alcohol and air pollution[1]. The plan envisages investing up to £120 million to expand specialist psychiatric emergency care units to around 85 facilities in the first half of the plan period[1]. The government has developed the plan in collaboration with the public, health professionals and partner organizations through the Change NHS campaign, which received more than 250,000 submissions[2].