Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Feature STPs

Wanted: clinicians to avert NHS transformation failure

BMJ 2017; 359 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5130 (Published 09 November 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;359:j5130

Rapid Response:

Re: Wanted: clinicians to avert NHS transformation failure

BEWARE STPs.

These are no gifts that Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships are bearing. The aspirations in Sustainability and Transformation plans are laudable, but they will remain solely aspirational unless extra funds are earmarked to allow them to be delivered. The mantras of 'joined-up care' and 'care closer to home' are ideas that are widely supported. However, the 44 collaborative groupings set up across England have been ordered to make further financial savings in the delivery of care. No reorganisation of services ever succeeds without an initial increase in funding.

Beware also that, even before any STP has become operational, 8 of them are mandated to become Accountable Care Organisations, and more across England are planned to follow. They are to be run like the organisations with the same name that provide private insurance-based health services in the USA. Is this what we want in England?

Competing interests: No competing interests

16 November 2017
Jill Rapoport
Retired GP
Wirksworth