There is one constant in the NHS, and that is change. For many years, Government policy has tried to close the gap between the growing demand for healthcare and the limited budgets and capacity of the NHS. Today, reform continues. With a backdrop of managing the Global pandemic, our NHS continues to implement the move towards ‘integrated care’ – the central value of the ‘NHS Long-Term Plan’. These reforms set out a vision for patients to receive better and more joined-up care, at the right time, and in the optimal setting.

As expected, the reforms bring operational change, altering amongst other things, organisational structures, finances, decision-making processes, and workforce capacity. This time of flux, coupled with the challenges of the pandemic, present an urgent need for manufacturers of medicines (as well as devices, diagnostics and technologies) to revisit how they can continue to be a valued partner to the NHS, and ensure that the value of their products remains relevant.

To help navigate these changes, NeoHealthHub (NHH) have been conducting structured interviews with a range of critical decision-makers across the NHS since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Our white paper ‘Winning critical decisions in the evolving NHS’ provides an in-depth review of the new NHS structure, financial flows, and decision-making processes, looking at both the theory presented by policy makers, and the perspective of front-line NHS experts. By understanding the practicalities of implementing the NHS Long-Term Plan, and the experience of critical decision-makers in driving change so far, we can make clear and urgent recommendations for how the healthcare industry needs to reform to meet the demands of the new NHS and continue to be a valued partner. Here we briefly summarise the key implications of some of the structural changes.