London’s frontline NHS staff to have their say on the future of the NHS

Over 100 frontline NHS staff will be joined by senior NHS leaders in London today (20th Feb 2025) to share what they want to see from the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

It is just one of a series of national events where frontline NHS staff across the whole of the NHS workforce, as well as social care and public health staff, can come together to help reshape the health service.

The discussions will be led by independent facilitators, with senior Government and NHS figures in attendance to hear the views of staff on what the future of the NHS should look like.

Joining today’s event are senior colleagues from across the Government and the NHS, including Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, Dr Navina Evans (Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer at NHS England) and David Webb, the Chief Pharmacist for England.

Staff in attendance span across a range of organisations, roles, care settings and communities including GPs, nurses, optometrists, consultants, porters, pharmacists and more to ensure that the discussion is reflective of the wide variety of health and care services provided in London.

Part of the biggest listening event in NHS history, this deliberative engagement event with staff  follows seven nationwide public debates and a series of online staff events that took place last year to build a 10 Year Plan to make the NHS fit for future generations.

Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “We are on a mission to fix our broken NHS by delivering three big shifts in healthcare to move from analogue to digital, from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention. These shifts will help address the challenges in London and across the country.

“Our 10-Year Health Plan will set our NHS on the road to recovery, and we need frontline staff’s fingerprints to be all over it. They see what is going wrong day in, day out, and we want their ideas to help us turn the NHS around.

“I urge everyone, staff or patient, to share their experiences and ideas at change.nhs.uk, to help build a health service fit for the future.”

Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer at NHS England, said: “Our hardworking staff are the lifeblood of the NHS and it is only right as we look to plan for the next 10 years that we draw on the experiences of our workforce and their ideas that will allow us to directly improve their working lives and deliver better outcomes for the patients that we care for.

“I would encourage all NHS staff to get involved with the consultation and to share their thoughts and ideas for improvement with us no matter how big or small they could make a real difference to the 1.6 million people that work in the NHS.”

Caroline Clarke, Regional Director for the NHS in London, said: “Our staff know what is needed to transform the NHS and their views and ideas are essential in creating the 10 Year Health Plan.

“NHS staff are committed to finding innovative ways to improve care for patients, and this event in London is a fantastic opportunity to hear from staff about some of the solutions to the daily challenges patients and staff face in the nation’s Capital.

“Their perspectives will contribute to the tens of thousands of views that staff, patients, and the public have expressed so far across the UK, to make the NHS fit for the future.”

There’s still time for the public and other NHS staff to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS on change.nhs.uk or via the NHS App. Change.nhs.uk has already received 1.5 million separate visits, with over 11,000 ideas now live on the site.