The Realities of NHS Recovery
This essay is part of our New Year's series on what to expect in 2026 and can be downloaded as one compiled PDF via the download form. Thank you!
By Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, Senior Adviser at 5654 & Company
As we look towards 2026, it is increasingly clear that the Government is committed to the recovery and transformation of the National Health Service. The intention is sincere and the direction of travel unmistakeable. Yet as anyone familiar with the NHS will know, commitment does not automatically translate into rapid improvement. The scale of the challenge remains enormous, and both the Government and the Department of Health and Social Care continue to grapple with the complexity and re-imagining of what must be achieved.This challenge has been made more difficult by the announced abolition of NHS England, which was later recast as a merger with the Department of Health and Social Care. Regardless of the terminology, the effect has been organisational disruption and a ‘holding pattern’ has delayed decisive decision making. Redundancies that were not fully costed and a general inertia in decision making have delayed progress at a moment when clarity and momentum are urgently needed. The Government has made clear its intention to use private providers to expand capacity, yet the practical delivery of that ambition has been slower and more cautious than anticipated. Senior management nervousness and lack of experience and imagination when engaging with the private sector has made this engagement too slow to maximise impact.
It is also necessary to be realistic about the political timetable. The idea that the NHS can be fully recovered within a single parliamentary term is unlikely. Recovery is a trajectory, not an event, and requires consistent action over several years. With no guarantee that Labour will secure a second term, time becomes a critical variable. A future government influenced by Reform UK could well open the NHS further to private sector involvement, while still maintaining state funding, universal access and the core safety net.
There has been definite progress. One of the most striking developments is the growing prioritisation of NHS digitisation. The vision of a digital-first NHS is taking shape and is beginning to guide strategic decision making, at least on a government level. The recent Budget announcement of £300 million into NHS technology signals a shift towards using information to drive system efficiency, boost productivity, support staff and improve patient outcomes. However, digital transformation on this scale will take time and potentially be slowed by the affordability of redundancies which have been devolved to NHS Trust level. The NHS is vast, culturally complex and resistant to abrupt change. Embedding new technologies and new workflows requires patience, persistence and political stability.
Against this backdrop, the Government’s three priorities offer a useful guide to what the late 2020s NHS may look like and offer a clear framework for companies planning engagement and communications strategies. The shift from sickness to prevention will reward organisations able to demonstrate tangible contributions to early intervention. A simple example is a GP practice automatically enrolling at risk patients into local activity programmes supported by wearables. These stories help explain how prevention can be made real.
The shift from hospital to community provides another useful narrative. Community delivered intravenous diuretics for heart failure patients, replacing multi day hospital stays, shows what could be achieved with the right technology and workforce models. This is a compelling way for communications teams to illustrate system benefit.
Finally, the move from analogue to digital will shape every part of future delivery. Automated home spirometry for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, prompting earlier intervention, is a clear and relatable example of this shift. Greater digital fidelity and sophistication will offer the opportunity for private providers to assist the NHS with achieving greater efficiency and reducing fraud and waste.
For organisations seeking to play a credible role in NHS recovery, aligning communications and engagement with these three priorities and taking at least a medium-term view will be essential. They offer stability amid political uncertainty, signal long-term commitment, and will help ensure that contributions resonate regardless of the government of the day.
In addition to being a consultant to 5654 & Company, JVT is also an Associate Non-Executive Director at an NHS Trust. The views expressed in this article do not relate specifically to any NHS Trust.