The NHS belongs to the people: A Call to Action

Every day the NHS saves lives and helps people stay well, but 65 years ago many people faced choosing between poverty if they fell seriously ill or forgoing care altogether.

Today:•The NHS treats 1,000,000 people every 36 hours•Between 1990 and 2010, life expectancy in England increased by 4.2 years•88% of patients in the UK described the quality of care they received as excellent or very good

If the NHS is to survive another 65 years, it must change. There are a number of future pressures that threaten to overwhelm the NHS:-

• The population is ageing and we are seeing a significant increase in the number of people with long-term conditions

• The resulting increase in demand combined with rising costs threatens the financial stability and sustainability of the NHS

We must anticipate the challenges of the future if we are to improve the quality and performance of current NHS services to live up to the high expectations of service users and the public.

• A national engagement exercise involving patients, the public, partners and health and social care staff

• Intended to gather ideas and solutions on how best to meet some of the major challenges the NHS faces over the next 10 years

• Your views will help to inform the development of local and national plans over the next 3 – 5 years

What is ‘A Call to Action’

Preserving the values that underpin a universal health service, free at the point of use, will mean fundamental changes to how we deliver and use health care services.

This is NOT about unnecessary structural changes, it is about finding ways to do things differently:-

• Harnessing technology to fundamentally improve productivity

• Putting people in charge of their own health and care

• Integrating more health and care services

Purpose of A Call to Action

There are a range of local health challenges

•Higher rates of smoking in pregnancy

•Lower rates of breast feeding

•High level of alcohol related incidents

•High rate of smoking related deaths

•High number of early deaths from cancerand heart disease

We have an ageing population

Durham, Darlington & Tees population projections until 2033

• Projected 19.5% growth in number of people aged over 85 in next five years

• Projected 46% growth in number of people aged over 85 by 2023

We have high levels of deprivation

We are seeing rising demand for urgent care services

We spend much more on mental and physical health than on prevention

Our local NHS workforce is ageing

We need to make sure our services are safe and sustainable

• Maintaining clinical effectiveness• Providing a wide range of services to meet

needs• Maintaining our good safety record• Building on positive patient experiences

Over to you

The NHS belongs to all of us. This Call toAction is the opportunity for everyone who

uses or works in the NHS to have their say onits future.

Your views

In terms of healthcare, what is most important to you and your family and why?

What should the NHS do in order to meet future health needs with the same resources?

What do you think could be done in a different way or better?

What should the NHS do to help people stay healthy?

How should the NHS support people with long-term conditions to better manage their own conditions?

What should the NHS do to help people recover better following illness?

What should the NHS do to support older people to live with better quality of life and reduce the need for a stay in hospital?

Your views