Sustainability and transformation in the NHS

This report from the National Audit Office finds that additional funding, aimed to help the NHS get on a financially sustainable footing, has instead been spent on coping with existing pressures.

The report makes a number of recommendations to the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement, which includes moving further and faster towards aligning nationwide incentives, regulation and processes, as well as reassessing how best to allocate the sustainability and transformation funding.

Charging policy 2017-18 / Vacant Space Handback

NHS Property Services’ (NHSPS), in conjunction with NHS England and the Department of Health, has published a refreshed charging policy for 2017-18.

Commissioners can hand back vacant space under a new scheme run by NHS Property Services (NHSPS).

Securing a sustainable NHS workforce for the future

NHS Improvement has launched a major new programme to improve staff retention in trusts across England and bring down the leaver rates in the NHS by 2020.

Nurses and all clinical staff are the backbone of the NHS and this retention programme will highlight why there's been an increase in staff choosing to leave and provide support to trusts so they can hold on to this expertise and experience.

Three projects chosen for research into system efficiency and sustainability in health and social care

Three new research projects have been awarded grants by the Health Foundation, as part of its £1.5 million Efficiency Research Programme.  They will explore innovative approaches to achieving greater system efficiency and sustainability in health and social care in the UK.

Allocative efficiency in end-of-life care Lead organisation: Imperial College London

This research project will look at whether improvements in the efficiency of health and social care delivery at the end of life could enable access to higher-quality and more personalised care for patients.

WORKTECC: Workforce Operations that Realise Knowledge-based Transformational Efficiency gains in Community Care Lead organisation: University College London (UCL)

This research project aims to identify the scope for transformational efficiency gains in home-based NHS care. It will assess whether workforce operations used by other industries could deliver improved efficiency, and if so, how.

Efficiency, cost and quality of mental health care provision Lead organisation: The University of York

This research project will look at the efficiency, cost and quality of current mental health care provision, assess organisational factors, and estimate how mental health trusts can make changes to improve their efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Skilled and committed workforce is crucial for NHS survival

Staff are essential to the future sustainability of the NHS, says a new report from the Lords Select Committee on the long-term sustainability of the NHS.


The report, published today, claims that the lack of a comprehensive long-term strategy to secure appropriately skilled, well-trained and committed workforce is ‘the biggest internal threat to the sustainability of the NHS.’ It recommends that the government takes steps to retain overseas-trained staff working in the NHS and social care, and provides reassurances about their future.

Working with Care Providers to Understand Costs

The aim of this CIPFA guide is to enable and equip commissioners with the knowledge and skills to support informed dialogue with providers in the interest of working toward agreed fee rates that are affordable, good value for money and support market sustainability.

Sustainable Development In The Health And Care System: Health Check 2017

This report is the first in a series of annual publications from the Sustainable Development Unit looking at progress of sustainable development across the health and care system. It finds that overall organisations are cutting their carbon footprint and saving money through reducing energy use, but having less success in addressing water use and the increased costs from waste disposal.

Sustainable Development Management Plan Guidance For Health And Social Care Organisations

This guidance from the Sustainable Development Unit has been brought up to date with the current NHS standard contract and aims to provide more detailed guidance as to which areas are more or less appropriate for large providers, small providers and CCGs. It is intended to support organisations to understand the key elements that make up a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP). It also provides some advice on how you can develop your organisation’s SDMP.

Sustainable development in the health and care sector - annual performance maps

These interactive online maps outline how the health and care system is doing on sustainable development. They show how the system across England’s is performing by regions - which can be shown either by NHS or PHE area boundaries.

Financial sustainability of the NHS

This is the National Audit Office's fifth report on the financial sustainability of the NHS. The health service must be financially sustainable to provide high-quality services for patients both now and in the future. Health is an area of public spending that has been protected in recent years. However, finances have become increasingly tight.

We need patients and the public to shape local health plans, say NHS leaders

Patients and the public across England are set to be asked to help the local NHS make decisions about how best to develop services. 

The NHS in England is today (Thursday) publishing national advice for local health and social care leaders preparing what are known as local Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs).

Local plans for local people:communicating change - NHS Confederation

NHS England have produced a guide for local areas to use, which is intended to support them in involving and engaging with local people in the development of Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs).

‘Engaging local People’ is specifically aimed at STP communications leads and footprint leaders and also clarifies the level of patient and public participation expected of STP.

TUC congress: Safeguard the NHS by increasing investment and pay for staff, says CSP

Speaking at the TUC conference in Brighton on 13 September, CSP director Claire Sullivan moved a motion that highlighted risks to the sustainability of the NHS.

She told delegates that the health service was experiencing an ever-worsening financial situation. The CSP motion said NHS England was facing a deficit of £550 million by the end of this financial year.

Sustainability and Transformation Plans: what we know so far

Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) – the 44 regionally specific blueprints for improving health and social care services and finances for the coming five years – are taking shape, and final versions are expected to be submitted in the coming weeks. With this in mind, the Nuffield Trust and the Healthcare Financial Management Association recently held a workshop for STP leaders that was designed to help those involved in STP ‘footprints’ to develop their plans. We have drawn together insights from the workshop, from members of our learning networks for hospital CEOs and CCG accountable officers, and from a series of conversations with other STP leads. We have also reviewed a number of draft plans.

Failure to address social care funding risks undermining NHS

Strains on social care funding must be urgently addressed to relieve growing pressure on the NHS, the NHS Confederation has told a cross-party panel of MPs.
Without adequately funded social care, the sustainability of the entire health and care sector risks being undermined, the organisation has warned.

STPs - Early Areas Of Action

38 Degrees commissioned Incisive Health to review all publicly available documents on sustainability and transformation plans (STPs). This report brings together all the available information and identifies key emerging themes in the plans. It identifies the NHS deficit as a key driver of some of the measures outlined within STP footprint plans, alongside service transformation to support quality improvement. 

NHS England statement on Sustainability and Transformation Plans

Commenting on stories today on local Sustainability and Transformation Plans, a spokesperson for NHS England said: “We need an NHS ready for the future, with no one falling between the cracks. To do this, local service leaders in every part of England are working together for the first time on shared plans to transform health and care in the communities they serve, and to agree how to spend increasing investment as the NHS expands over the next few years.

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) explained

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) were announced in the NHS planning guidance published in December 2015. NHS organisations in different parts of the country have been asked to come together to develop ‘place-based plans’ for the future of health and care services in their area. Draft plans were submitted in June 2016, and final plans are expected to be completed in October. 

But what do STPs really mean? And what will they mean for the NHS?

Demand Management Good Practice Guide

NHS England -
This guidance is aimed at commissioners and providers in order to support effective management of demand for NHS services. It provides an overview of regional benchmarking of demand in England alongside a summary of actions and initiatives that can be taken to manage demand on a sustainable basis.

High-performing foundation trusts to support others in improving patient services - NHS Improvement

We've accredited the first four foundation trusts in the country to lead groups of NHS providers.
By linking together hospitals, the aim is to improve their clinical and financial viability, creating better and more sustainable services for patients.
The foundation group leaders will help to improve efficiency and the quality of clinical services by sharing excellent practice.