Top 20 Takeaways from the HSJ Summit: Delivering the 10-Year Health Plan
When the UK government released the much anticipated 10-year health plan for the NHS, there was a mixture of responses and several questions about it’s implementation and impacts on UK healthcare.
Months on, there are still questions surrounding the implications of the plan for Industry, particularly within Pharma.
Last month, HSJ Information hosted the HSJ Summit: Delivering the 10-Year Health Plan which saw experts from across Industry, the NHS and HSJ Information unite. The core topics discussed were navigating the 10-year health plan strategy, the foundational elements of the three shifts, and leadership qualities necessary for the decade ahead.
For future HSJ Events and sponsorship opportunities, click here.
Top 20 takeaways from the HSJ Summit 2025
Various voices from across UK healthcare attended under Chatham House Rule. HSJ Information’s content director Oli Hudson has summarised his top 20 takeaways here:
For Oli's full breakdown of the plan, be sure to download your copy of the HSJ Information 10-Year Health Plan Overview here.
1. The gap between vision and capacity is widening
The NHS 10-Year Plan runs to 171 pages, but the delivery bandwidth to match its ambition is shrinking. Leaders described “a system at full stretch” trying to operationalise long-term reform on short-term budgets and contracts.
2. Policy is catching up with practice
The integrated care model is no longer an experiment. Cheshire & Merseyside - nine places, 55 neighbourhoods - was cited repeatedly as proof that genuine place-based partnership can outpace national policy. Systems are building the NHS England vision from the ground up, not the top down.
3. The digital front door is finally open
For the first time, more people contacted the NHS online than by phone (September data). But as one speaker warned, “We’re putting more doors on the bus without putting any seats on it.” Expanding access must not dilute continuity or overwhelm clinical capacity.
4. From pilots to permanence
Somerset’s seven-year journey to integrate two hospitals, mental health, community and 16 GP practices was described as “integration by attrition.” The lesson: progress sticks only when it changes contracts, staff terms, and culture - not just governance charts.
5. The ageing paradox
Older people in US integrated care systems spend 40% less time in hospital than in the NHS. Our system still incentivises admission over prevention. The “frailty premium” is emerging as a big new battleground for value.
6. Prevention remains rhetoric without fiscal realism
One delegate quipped: “At current rates, it’ll take 250 years to close the life expectancy gap.” Everyone agrees prevention is cheaper - but no one’s funding it at scale. The Treasury model remains geared towards acute demand, not future savings.
7. Localism or nationalism?
The quiet consensus is the next decade will be defined by how much localism can prevail. One system leader summed it up - “There’s a real limit to how much nationalism we will tolerate.” Flexibility, not uniformity, is driving local results.
8. Genomics and AI are tools, not panaceas
AI is transforming radiology - ten times faster than cardiology - but tech in itself isn’t a strategy and investment in people and workflow redesign comes before algorithms. As one speaker said: “Genomics and AI won’t fix broken operating models.”
9. Community-based mental health is maturing
In Birmingham, a 24/7 mental health hub run from a mosque is redefining “access.” It’s not just a story about managing exclusion, but about system design - meeting people where they are, not where the NHS is comfortable.
10. The power of precision partnerships
The near-eradication of communicable HIV in Greater Manchester was hailed as proof that radical goals can be achieved when science, local government and voluntary services, with the right data, act as one.
11. Procurement must grow up
With 90% of medtech purchasing happening at system level, ICSs must become informed customers. The old “national framework” mentality is incompatible with modern innovation. Systems are learning to behave like investors, not buyers.
12. Workforce reform is service reform
The blunt truth: “The business, operating and care models are all broken.” Workforce redesign - advanced practitioners, shared staffing, new roles - was cited as the only lever powerful enough to reset the model.
13. End-of-life care is the hidden drain
Thousands of hospital bed-days each year are consumed by people who would prefer to die at home. This is a human and financial failure - and an area where integrated care can make visible, measurable gains.
14. Primary care is reorganising from the inside out
Lincolnshire’s 22 PCNs show what mature primary care integration looks like. Ten of 14 neighbourhoods now focus on frailty, using shared physio and pharmacy staff, and experimenting with continuity models that restore personal care to industrial-scale systems.
15. Quality and safety are everyone’s business
CQC’s 36,000 registered providers illustrate the fragmented landscape. The call was to “democratise safety” - build a learning system that spans NHS, voluntary and independent sectors. Quality improvement must live in the ecosystem, not the inspectorate.
16. The digital divide mirrors the social one
Digital engagement is soaring, but exclusion remains entrenched. One ICS mapped that their heaviest users of A&E are least likely to access the NHS app. Technology without inclusion widens inequalities by design.
17. Housing, planning and health are merging agendas
Health is moving onto the high street and into planning codes. Cheshire & Merseyside’s work embedding wellbeing into town regeneration was showcased as a prototype for the “healthy place” approach the NHS Long Term Plan promised.
18. Obesity is the new tobacco
Public health leaders warned that obesity, not smoking, now drives the largest preventable disease burden. Yet the system still invests more in treating diabetes complications than in community weight management.
19. The culture shift is from heroics to humility
“If you really want to understand something, try to change it,” said one system CEO. The mood has shifted from command-and-control to inquiry and iteration. Leaders are learning to test, adapt, and share challenges faster.
20. Integration’s real measure is belonging
Beyond data and dashboards, the most powerful theme was identity. Staff who feel they belong to “the system” rather than a single trust or practice deliver better outcomes. Integration isn’t structural - it’s emotional.
The next steps?
Whilst the next few years are set to see changes, clarifications and further discussion, it is clear that patient outcomes and improved healthcare are still the primary concern.
But how should pharma and industry pivot to ensure they can maximise engagement and positive outcomes with the shifting NHS structure? Take a look at our latest webinar where we discuss what the 10-year plan really means for brands and how to react in the short and medium term.
How practical is a Single National Formulary in practice?
A central element of the plan is the introduction of a Single National Formulary (SNF) within the next two years. At present, understanding of the SNF across both the NHS and industry appears limited and no clear pathway has yet been set out for its delivery.
HSJ Information conducted a report, drawing on the views of around 50 key stakeholders from the NHS and the life sciences sector. It summarises their perspectives on the likely impact of a national formulary and highlights the key issues that will need to be addressed.
