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by Kate Johnston, Senior Category Manager – Health NHS Shared Business Services. |
The NHS is at a pivotal moment. Lord Darzi’s review, published last year, described the system as being in “critical condition”. These concerns are intensified by demographic shifts and an ageing population.
To address these challenges, the 10-Year Health Plan for England has been set out to reform the NHS and create a new model of care by focussing on reinventing the NHS through three strategic priorities:
- Hospital to community: Shifting care closer to home to reduce pressure on hospitals.
- Analogue to digital: Embracing technology to streamline services and improve access.
- Sickness to prevention: Focusing on proactive health management rather than reactive treatment.
The vision of the report is that the NHS of the future will be a service that offers instant access to help and appointments, predicting and preventing ill health rather than simply diagnosing and treating it. Our Health Framework Agreements can enable these shifts by supporting the effective delivery of care in hospitals, the community and at home.
Supporting treatment in the community
New Neighbourhood Health Services will bring care into local communities, allowing hospitals to focus on providing specialist care. Delivering more urgent care in the community, people’s homes, or through neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) will phase out traditional hospital outpatient models as we know it by 2035. Our Patient Discharge and Mental Health Step Down Beds (Care) Services Framework Agreement supports hospitals with discharging patients to improve the patient pathway from acute care to an appropriate care setting, including streamlining the transition from hospital to the community. Respiratory Therapy – Equipment and Consumables and Advanced Wound Care and Lymphoedema Products and Services allow treatment of sleep apnoea and non-invasive ventilation at home, whilst also allowing wound care to be managed at home; patients are discharged faster, nursing time required is reduced and subsequent further hospital admissions are avoided.
In 2026, we’ll be introducing our new Virtual Wards/Hospital at Home Framework Agreement which will support patients to be cared for in their homes via online monitoring and treatment – if you’d like to stay up to date with when this launches, sign up here.
Supporting elective treatment
The NHS needs to increase capacity to eliminate the practice of corridor care and restore the NHS constitutional standard of 92% of patients beginning elective treatment within 18 weeks. Our Insourcing of Clinical Services Framework Agreement provides additional capacity across a wide range of Healthcare Resource Groups (HRG’s), utilising hospital spaces out of hours which supports elective recovery efforts.
Our framework agreements can also support NHS Trusts to diagnose a range of common conditions and diseases including cancer. Our framework agreements cover everything from Contrast Media including Injectors and Associated Products, which enables the quality and timely diagnosis and monitoring of a variety of conditions and diseases, to Reporting Services: Teleradiology, which ensures timely access to accurate diagnostic services for patients.
Expand mental health services
To expand mental health services, the NHS will invest up to £120 million to develop more dedicated mental health emergency departments, to ensure patients get fast, same day access to specialist support in an appropriate setting is another target.
Our recently awarded Provider Selection Regime (PSR) framework agreement for Mental Health Services, Learning Disabilities and Autism – Assessment and Diagnosis, NHS Talking Therapies and Crisis Services supports the NHS to make care fairer and more accessible for those with mental health, learning disabilities and autism.
Introducing robotics and expanding AI
Our Surgical Robots, Consumables and Related Services Framework Agreement supports minimally invasive procedures, reducing hospital stays and easing the patient backlog, which is in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines to expand the usage of surgical robots in 2026
Our innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Imaging and Radiotherapy Equipment, Associated Products and Diagnostic Imaging Framework Agreement integrates AI into clinical pathways, enabling faster, more accurate diagnoses and helping the NHS become a global leader in AI-enabled healthcare. Diagnostic imaging can support NHS Trusts with quality and timely diagnosis of conditions and diseases, improving patient experience and speeds up treatment time.
Five-year plans
Moving away from short-term financial planning models by asking all organisations to prepare robust and realistic five-year plans, demonstrating how financial sustainability will be secured over the medium term, is another goal of the 10-year health plan.
Our Clinical Managed Services, including Managed Maintenance Services Framework Agreement can support NHS Trusts in better managing their budgets and capacity through managed services, allowing for the refresh of critical equipment without such high capital investment. Maintenance services also ensure equipment remains in use longer, with less downtime.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets a bold vision for the future of healthcare in England. Through our comprehensive framework agreements, we’re ready to help the NHS deliver on this vision -transforming care, embracing innovation, and improving lives.
Flexible routes to market
Our framework agreements can be used by both the NHS and wider public sector and give you the flexibility to direct award or run a further competition. Our category experts are on hand to support you, advising on the most effective route for your needs, driving best value and supporting better patient outcomes.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about how our team and framework agreements can support you, please contact us for further information.
