The 10 Year Health Plan makes clear that change needs to be delivered at scale, embedding new ways of working that transform the experience of staff and patients alike. Delivering this change requires a different approach to planning across the NHS. Planning across the NHS in England needs to be a continuous, iterative process that supports transformational change and should be a collaborative activity, fostering a sense of shared ownership across all stakeholders.

Effective delivery within the NHS required robust planning at all levels and layers and across the short, medium, and longer term. To allow the NHS to focus on thoughtful, long-term strategic planning of services the focus is now being shifted towards a rolling five-year planning horizon with the advent of medium-term planning.