There has been much talk in the media recently about the STP, but what does this really mean for the residents. STP – Sustainability and Transformation Plan – is a five-year plan intended to join up health and care services to meet the changing needs of the population.
Brent is part of the North West London (NWL) plan, along with seven other local authorities: Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. Together, NHS doctors and health and social care professionals have identified ways to make improvements within the budget that the Government has set.
To improve health and care services, the STP will focus on health and well-being, which includes smoking, drinking, obesity, equalities, and self-care; quality of care which covers access to and quality of GPs, out of hours services, out of hospital services, and cancer waits to name a few; and finance and efficiency improvements to deal with the growth in demand for services.
What we want to do is keep our residents as healthy as possible, rather than just reacting when they become ill. Provide our residents with the services, information and support so that they can stay as healthy as possible. Regular users of health and social care services should get as much support as possible in their own home, and the help and expert advice they need to avoid problems becoming a crisis. Trips to hospital should be absolutely necessary and planned, returning home quickly and safely, with the right support and follow-up in place.
To make sure these ambitions are met, health and social care teams will work hard to provide better prevention and well-being provision; improving long term conditions management; achieve better outcomes for older people, children and adults with mental health needs and ensuring we have safe, high quality acute services.
The STP proposal for NWL has been submitted to NHS England, NHS Improvement, and other national bodies to consider. This year, these bodies will decide which proposals to fund and will also encourage STPs to learn from each other.
The STP should see health and social care services improve as public bodies work more closely together, making commonsense changes to improve our residents’ lives. It is therefore important that local authorities have a seat at the STP table to ensure that our residents have better outcomes, living well and making the most of the available budget.
