Today it was confirmed that speculations were correct and that the NHS Long Term Plan will indeed not be published until the New Year. In the meantime, that does not stop the surfacing of more and more bits and pieces. Earlier today NHS England’s announced for instance that the Plan will create a ‘national heroes service’ for veterans. Read more about what will be in the Plan in this NHS England December Stakeholder briefing.

Last week we learned more about the new joint NHS Improvement and NHS England senior leadership team – the NHS Executive Group. At our pre-publication briefing of the NHS Long Term Plan last Tuesday, Professor Stephen Powis, the National NHS Medical Director, and Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer, provided specialist input on MPs and Peers questions during the Q&A. At the meeting chaired by Baroness Cumberlege and Karin Smyth MP, we heard from Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England on the Long Term Plan and pressures and opportunities for the NHS.

Hosted by Baroness Cumberlege and the Q&A chaired by Karin Smyth MP, this meeting provided Policy Connect, the APHG and the Parliamentary and Associate members who attended, an exclusive insight to the long-awaited Long Term Plan. The Executive members and Simon Stevens were grilled and gave plenty of detail on funding, workforce and training, regional pressures and steps on how the ten-year plan could be executed.

On the new executive structure, Ian Dalton, chief executive of NHS Improvement elaborates in an HSJ article, saying that: ‘Under the new structure the seven integrated regional teams will play a major leadership role in the geographies they manage, making decisions on how best to assure and support performance in their region, as well as supporting local system transformation.’ If you would like to see all the new members of the NHS Executive Group, incl. all Regional Directors, read more here.