Looking forward: the Five Year View

On 23 October, Simon Stevens outlined his Five Year Forward View for the NHS. Developed by the partner organisations that deliver and oversee health and care services, including NHS England, Public Health England, Monitor, Health Education England, the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Trust Development Authority, it offers a look at why change in the NHS is needed, what that change might look like and how we can achieve it (NHS England et al, 2014). This ‘upgrade’ to the public health system will take into account growing problems associated with obesity, smoking and the consumption of alcohol; greater control of patients' own care through fully interoperable electronic health records that are accessible to the patient; and decisive steps to break down the barriers in how care is provided.

In line with the Urgent and Emergency Care Review (NHS England, 2013), the Five Year Forward View proposes an expanded role for ambulance services, highlighting the increasing need for out-of-hospital care to become a more notable part of the work the NHS undertakes. The plan highlights the need to dissolve traditional boundaries and integrate urgent and emergency care services between A&E departments, GP out-of-hours services, urgent care centres, NHS 111, and ambulance services. Through empowering ambulance service staff—including paramedics—with the ability to make make more decisions, treat more patients and make referrals in a more flexible way, it is hoped that pressure on other services can be alleviated and patients can receive the care they deserve. Highlighting the success of the introduction of major trauma centres, it emphasises the need for developing networks of linked hospitals that ensure patients with the most serious needs get to specialist emergency centres.