Politicians must stop their unthinking defence of hospital care (HSJ, 15 July 2025)

Summary

The long-awaited 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS was published on 3 July, to much fanfare. On the same day, more quietly, in a corner of south east England, an NHS trust announced that, due to difficulties in ensuring safe staffing, a 16-bed ward in a community hospital in a small town would close for four weeks.

The reaction from the local MP was a powerful illustration of one of the reasons why previous attempts to shift “from hospital to community” have failed.

To fulfil the 10-Year Health Plan’s vision of a community-centric service, politicians and local leaders will need to align their actions and engage collectively with the communities for whom this matters, writes Helen Buckingham in this HSJ article.