NHS England, 31 March 2017
- This document constitutes the NHS Delivery plan for 2017/18 and sets out the NHS’ main national service improvement priorities over the next two years, within the constraints of what is necessary to achieve financial balance across the health service.
- The main 2017/18 national service improvement priorities for the NHS are:
- Improving A&E performance. This also requires upgrading the wider urgent and emergency care system so as to manage demand growth and improve patient flow in partnership with local authority social care services.
- Strengthening access to high quality GP services and primary care, which are far and away the largest point of interaction that patients have with the NHS each year.
- Improvements in cancer services (including performance against waiting times standards) and mental health – common conditions which between them will affect most people over the course of their lives.
- In order to deliver these goals, in 2017/18 NHS England will work to accelerate service redesign locally. Chapter Six sets out next steps on integrating care locally through Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships and Accountable Care Systems. There is a focus on the 13 enablers of the above, namely workforce, safer care, technology and innovation.
