RSPH welcomes the NHS Five Year Forward View which recognises that “the sustainability of the NHS and the economic prosperity of Britain all now depend on a radical upgrade in prevention and public health.”

In the review, six leading bodies - NHS England, Monitor, NHS Trust Development Authority, Care Quality Commission, Public Health England and Health Education England - set out why the NHS needs to change and outline the actions they will take to deliver a vision of transformed care.

As part of this new vision, health bosses promise that the NHS will now back hard-hitting national action on obesity, smoking, alcohol and other major health risks. There will be help in developing and support new workplace incentives to promote employee health and cut sickness-related unemployment and stronger public health-related powers for local government and elected mayors will be advocated.

The new plan points out that 12 years ago Derek Wanless’ health review warned that unless the country took prevention seriously, it would be faced with a sharply rising burden of avoidable illness. “That warning has not been heeded – and the NHS is on the hook for the consequences,” it says.

“We are delighted to see that public health is moving so swiftly up the health and care agenda,” said Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive RSPH. “It is clearly vitally important to educate people about their own health. This is an approach that can help address health inequalities, prevent unnecessary illness and suffering - and save the NHS money. It is time to take a longer-term view of health and care and this review is doing just that.”

When people do need health services, patients will gain far greater control of their own care – including the option of shared budgets combining health and social care. The 1.4 million full time unpaid carers in England will get new support, and the NHS will become a better partner with voluntary organisations and local communities.

Decisive steps will be taken by the NHS to break down the barriers in how care is provided between family doctors and hospitals, between physical and mental health, between health and social care. The future will see far more care delivered locally but with some services in specialist centres, organised to support people with multiple health conditions, not just single diseases.

Other key changes:

• To forget a ‘one size fits all’ care model. Let local authorities decide what is best for local people. Identify characteristics of similar health communities across England and implement evidence-based care models to tackle health priorities in local areas
• Far greater local cohesion and ‘gap-lessening’ between family doctors and hospitals, between physical and mental health, between health and social care, and between prevention and treatment
• Multispecialty Community Providers (MCPs). Allow GP surgeries to join forces with senior nurses, consultant physicians, therapists, local hospitals etc to create partnerships that can work together to create new models of care with the potential to shift care out of the hospital setting
• Patient empowerment – giving patients access to information about their condition and medical history, giving patients choice over how and where they receive care.
• Significant investment in group-based health education, self-management educational courses and encouraging independent peer-to-peer communities to emerge to create a structural shift where people can manage their own health effectively.