11.07.16
No clarity given on benefits of being in earlier wave of STPs, says London Councils
Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) will fall into a number of separate waves for approval over the next few months, but no clarity has been provided around the benefits of being in earlier waves, according to a new paper published by London Councils.
The organisation, which represents London’s 32 borough councils and the City of London, noted that “descriptors of how each wave of plans is characterised and expectations of content has not been published”.
During the recent NHS Confederation conference, NHS England’s CEO Simons Stevens said that he would be spending much of this month going through the recently submitted STPs with NHS Improvement’s Jim Mackey before approving plans.
In his speech, Stevens said that as the NHS tries to land the STPs in the 44 local footprints there are three headlines he would like people to consider.
“First is ‘Horses for courses‘. How the health and care system evolves in different parts of the country will look different. That is fine. One of my kind of guiding principles is that it does not all have to look the same everywhere; the solution for Lincolnshire will not be the same solution for South East London. That is OK – but it does need to be a solution,” he said.
“I think the second phrase that comes to my mind is: ‘If not now, when?’ In so many of these conversations – and I’ve had the benefit of sitting down with 24 out of the 44 STP leadership groups – in so many of these processes, it is not that people don’t know what has to be resolved, it’s often that people have known about it for years, just the time has “never been quite right”. Then the last of the thoughts it seems to me is: “How big a team are we playing on?”
He added that the NHS has to make the STP process work, but acknowledged it is going to be a “bloody tough year” and there will be reset on the money.
It is expected that there will be three waves for the STPs. The first wave is expected to be those approved for delivery following June submissions. The second wave is likely to have further work to do to lead to finalising plans for approval during the autumn. Finally, a third wave is expected to have finalised plans approved by the end of the financial year.
The latest London Councils report, prepared by Doug Flight, the head of strategic policy, added that no clarity has been provided “around the benefits to being in earlier waves, though it would appear that one of the most obvious benefits would be access to funding”.
Last month, a London Councils paper highlighted ‘significant difficulties’ in capacity and collaboration in the STP planning process, and the original submission deadline was watered down to ‘work in progress’.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that STPs are ‘very simply’ about reducing hospital bed days, while former care minister Norman Lamb said STPs risk making mental health worse rather than better.
But the NHS Confederation chair, Stephen Dorrell, said STPs should be used to deliver “a new vision” of integrated public services, with full local authority involvement.
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