Labour has staked its future on providing the most radical NHS reforms in the 80-year history of its existence through its 10-Year Plan. 

The Government is currently touring the country as part of its national consultation on the measures which are set to be announced in May 2025. 

The framework of the plans will be founded on the ‘three shifts' of moving care from hospitals to the community, embracing digital transformation and shifting from treatment to prevention. 

A central requirement will be to set out a multi-year plan to shift funding from acute care services to primary and community care prevention - a long-term, laudable aim that is fraught with challenges given the ever-rising pressures on acute services and requirement to bring down waiting lists. 

Spring 2025 will also see the chancellor's multi-year Spending Review, which will build on the Autumn Budget by setting out healthcare spending allocations for the period covering a minimum of three years from 2026–27 to 2028–29. 

Together, the 10-Year Health Plan and Spending Review will be key to determining whether the Government meets its key election pledge of cutting NHS waiting times by delivering 40,000 more appointments every week. 

As for the perennial Cinderella service, adult social care, providers will be watching attentively for any signs of progress on their 10-Year Plan, which Wes Streeting has also promised. 

As we head into the new year, the stakes could not be higher for the Government, the NHS and social care.