‘Reimagining Health’ is a new programme of work from the think tank Reform, which seeks to explore how to transform the UK’s approach to health, turning it from a treatment-oriented model to one geared towards health creation, and the changes necessary to facilitate this.
As its premise for this research programme Reform sets out how the structure and institution of the NHS, created to meet the challenges of the post-war world, is not equipped to deal with the current and future challenges. The result, it states, is a system that doesn’t work for patients, who often struggle to access high-quality, timely care; for medical staff, who feel disempowered, stressed and burnt out; or for taxpayers, who foot an increasing bill for a service that is struggling to cope.
Reform has published a framing paper, which sets out what it believes to be the challenge as well as its initial thinking of areas to explore. This framing paper is a call to evidence through which Reform is inviting feedback that will help to shape its research plan and ideas. Areas to explore are detailed to shape the way forward for primary care, secondary care, data and technology, funding, the health model, shifting power to the consumer and harnessing community assets.
Practitioners, policy makers and systems innovators with big ideas for solutions are all invited to get in touch to help reimagine health for the modern world. Programme lead is Sebastian Rees - [email protected]
The launch of this initiative has been welcomed by ten former health and care ministers in an open letter which states: “Failing to act means failing citizens, patients and health and care workers. Without fundamental reform, the health - and therefore prosperity - of the nation, along with the NHS itself, will continue to decline.”
Reimagining Health is one of the major work streams within Reform’s wider programme, ‘Reimagining the State’, which aims to put forward a bold new vision for the role and shape of the State.
