Prevention, personalised care and care closer to home must be NHS priorities if it is to meet current and future challenges, according to  a report by the NHS Assembly entitled “The NHS in England at 75”.

The report was informed by the NHS@75 engagement involving thousands of people providing feedback on the future of the NHS.

Throughout its history, the NHS has adapted to meet people’s changing health needs, and this must continue given the risk factors caused by smoking and obesity as well as the increased prevalence of chronic health conditions.  Addressing these needs will involve 3 big shifts according to the NHS Assembly. Shifts that respond to the rise of chronic ill health and that give people greater involvement in their own health and wellbeing, and opportunities offered by new technology. These three shifts are:

• giving greater priority to prevention
• supporting people to have more control over their care, and
• providing co-ordinated care closer to home.

Talking about the report, Self Care Forum chair Helen Donovan said “a greater emphasis on helping to keep people well in the first place is hugely welcomed by the Self Care Forum, indeed, we are very much looking forward to seeing an implementation plan which has self-care at the heart of it, to ensure these three important shifts become a reality in the NHS and in people’s lives.”