What would a sustainable health and care system look like?

Current problems in the NHS and social care raise questions about the long term sustainability of the whole system. Sustainability is not just about finance and affordability, important as they are; nor is it purely about the efficiency and effectiveness of the system. It also depends on factors outside the control of the health and care sector.

Here I argue that sustainability depends on seven factors, all of which need to be tackled, and that new emphasis should be given in particular to cross-sectoral partnerships that help create healthy and resilient people and communities and to understanding and increasing the health and care sector’s contribution to the economy.