RCoA response to the 10-Year Health Plan consultation

On Monday, 2 December, the Royal College of Anaesthetists responded to the government’s ‘Change NHS’ consultation, which will feed into the development of its forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan for England. The plan will set out the Government and NHS England’s proposals to reform the health service. 

The consultation, which was open to the public, healthcare staff, and professional organisations, was launched following Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS. That investigation revealed the NHS was in ‘critical condition’, with waiting lists sitting at 7.6 million as of September this year. The consultation questions centred around three proposed strategic shifts: from hospital to community, sickness to prevention, and analogue to digital.  

RCoA’s response to the consultation highlighted the central role that anaesthetists play in the surgical pathway, including their involvement in perioperative care. In particular, we called for the 10-Year Health Plan to address workforce shortages in anaesthesia, which, it is estimated, currently prevent around 1.17 million operations and procedures from taking place each year in England. 

In particular, we called for the plan to: 

• Provide funding for more anaesthetic training places in both core and higher training.  

• Invest in hospital facilities for NHS staff, providing resources for rest, refreshment, and support 

• Support better workforce planning and flexibility in working patterns to retain senior anaesthetic staff 

• NHS England to mandate, encourage, and facilitate the adoption of surgical pathway efficiencies  

• Provide new funding for interventions to optimise the surgical pathway, such as prehabilitation schemes and better discharge planning