Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Committee took evidence on DHSC Annual Report and Accounts for 2023–24.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England on the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2023–24.2
Government Response Summary
The government broadly aligns with the committee's general observation, describing ongoing initiatives to improve patient care through partnership working and system efficiency, and referring to upcoming plans in a 10 Year Health Plan.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. improvements in patient care, by reducing duplication and improving services for patients through a more efficient, less bureaucratic system. Strong partnership working at place will be an essential enabler to neighbourhood health; delivering joined up care closer to people’s home and proactively supporting people in the community to avoid deterioration of health. This is as much about integration within the NHS – between primary care, community and acute services – as it is about integration between the NHS and wider public sector partners. NHS England has already clarified through the model Integrated Care Board blueprint that Integrated Care Boards should continue to foster strong relationships with local government in their places, so that they build a shared understanding of their populations and work together to commission neighbourhood services to improve outcomes and tackle inequalities. NHS England and the department will work closely with the Local Government Association to take this forward throughout the organisational change programme. The 10 Year Health Plan will set out an agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention. In line with the shift from hospital to the community, preserving and improving effective working relationships with local government and further enabling local systems are core principles that will remain central in the department’s ongoing organisational design work.