Bridging the Gap Between Vision and Execution in UK Healthcare
Introduction
In July 2025, the UK government and NHS England unveiled a bold 10-year vision to transform health and care delivery. At the heart of the plan is the ambition to create a faster, smarter, more joined-up health service built around prevention, digital innovation, and community-based care.
But turning policy into practice requires more than promises — it demands governance, infrastructure, and execution support. This is where Cognito Consultants can help.
What is the 10-Year NHS Plan?
Launched by the Labour government in 2025, the 10-Year NHS Plan is the UK’s strategic roadmap to reform and modernise the National Health Service by 2035. It signals a major shift from hospital-based reactive care toward community-led, preventive, and digitally supported healthcare.
Core Objectives:
- Faster access to GPs and primary care services
- A comprehensive NHS App acting as a “digital front door” for patients
- Greater use of AI and technology in clinical decision-making
- Integration with social care and community health services
- Publishing performance data for better transparency and accountability
This is an ambitious and much-needed move to modernise the NHS, but there are several areas where the plan needs support and clarity.
Where the Plan Falls Short
- Workforce Capacity and Skills
While the plan promises to recruit more clinicians, it does not fully address the current workforce crisis. The NHS is already short-staffed, and without a detailed pipeline for recruitment, training, and retention — especially in digital and community care — the goals may not be deliverable.
- Delayed Social Care Reform
The integration of health and social care is vital. Yet, the plan delays major social care reforms until 2028. This risks leaving critical gaps in patient support, particularly around hospital discharge, reablement, and community-based services.
- Digital Transformation Gaps
Though the NHS App is central to the strategy, most providers still face IT challenges. Legacy systems, lack of interoperability, and limited digital skills among staff mean many organisations are not ready to support a unified digital experience.
- Governance and Accountability
The plan lacks specific detail on governance — who owns which elements of delivery? How will progress be tracked? Without local accountability frameworks, the NHS risks patchy execution and wasted investment.
How Cognito Consultants Can Help
At Cognito Consultants, we bridge the gap between strategy and delivery. Our multidisciplinary team supports NHS organisations, care providers, clinics, and ICS leaders to execute reforms with clarity and confidence.
- Governance, Risk & Compliance
We co-design robust governance frameworks tailored to NHS and ICS structures, ensuring clarity of roles, accountability, and performance tracking across complex change programmes.
- Digital Transformation & Integration
We assess your current digital maturity and help you migrate from legacy systems to secure, cloud-based, and interoperable platforms. We integrate systems like Office 365 with popular care software (Birdie, PASS, CareLineLive) to enable smooth operations and data sharing.
- Redesigning Care Pathways with AI
Our consultants work with care teams and commissioners to optimise patient journeys, implement AI for triage and decision support, and automate administrative processes — always with a focus on ethical, human-centred care.
- Workforce Training and Planning
We support organisations to build a digitally fluent workforce, from frontline teams to leadership. Our training and development packages are tailored to support GP practices, care homes, clinics, and larger NHS providers.
Why Work with Cognito?
- Cross-sector expertise: NHS, social care, independent healthcare
- Practical, hands-on support from strategy through to implementation
- Deep knowledge of NHS policy, digital health, and CQC compliance
- Tailored solutions that deliver real-world outcomes
We don’t just advise — we partner with you to deliver.
Let’s Make the Vision Real
The 10-Year NHS Plan offers a blueprint for a better, more sustainable future for UK healthcare. But turning that vision into reality will require more than policy. It will take leadership, delivery capacity, and a clear understanding of how to implement change on the ground.
Cognito Consultants is ready to support you in making that transformation happen — safely, compliantly, and sustainably.