Kings Fund, 14 November 2016
- Based on a series of interviews with senior NHS and local government leaders which took place throughout 2016, this report looks at how STPs have been developed in four parts of the country. It examines the process, who was involved, governance, and management by local and national bodies.
- Key findings
- Local context and the history of collaboration within STP footprints have played a major role in determining the progress of the plans.
- Despite the focus on local ownership, key elements of the process have been ‘top-down’.
- National requirements and deadlines for the plans have changed over time, and guidance for STP leaders has sometimes been inconsistent and often arrived late.
- The approaches of national NHS bodies and their regional teams have not always been aligned.
- Tight deadlines have made it difficult to secure meaningful involvement in the plans from key stakeholders, including patients and the public, local authorities, clinicians and other frontline staff.
- Organisations face fundamental policy barriers to working together on STPs; existing accountability arrangements focus on individual rather than collective performance.
