Last week, the UK Government announced its 10 Year Health Plan to reform the NHS in England. The Government’s intention is to establish an NHS that is fit for the future, meeting an increase in demand and growing health complexities.
The 10 Year Health Plan follows the Lord Darzi report which identified the challenges the NHS has and is facing and offered suggestions for how these challenges could be addressed. As a result, the 10 Year Health Plan focuses on three key shifts:
1) hospital to community
2) analogue to digital
3) sickness to prevention
We welcome the 10 Year Health Plan as an important step in recognising the need for bold, long-term reform to tackle the deep pressures facing the NHS.
In this blog we share some of the key changes that will impact the brain tumour community.
Acknowledgement of the Cancer Challenge
As the government prepares to launch its Cancer Plan before the end of 2025, it’s encouraging to see cancer recognised as a priority within the broader 10 Year Health Plan.
The Health Plan acknowledges the significant challenges facing cancer care today. It also outlines promising commitments aimed at improving outcomes and experiences for everyone affected by cancer. These include ambitions to increase early diagnosis, drive innovation in cancer vaccines, and advance the use of genomics and precision medicine.
While this acknowledgement is welcome, we hope to see more specific actions to improve outcomes and quality of life for those affected by cancer in the government’s future Cancer Plan. We now need to see the Cancer Plan deliver adequate resourcing as well as targeted commitments to enable significant improvements for those living with a brain tumour.
Bringing care closer to home
A major change outlined in the Health Plan is the introduction of Neighbourhood Health Services, designed to bring care closer to home. This move aims to ease pressure on hospitals, ensuring those who need specialist care can access it more quickly.
Crucially, the plan promises that people with long-term conditions will receive coordinated support from multi-disciplinary teams. Brain tumours sit within a group of rare and complex diseases that require access to highly specialised care, and in some cases, they can also be considered long-term conditions. For this new model to work for people with brain tumours, it must be underpinned by appropriate funding and targeted implementation.
The continued transition to integrated systems and more localised care delivery must ensure that no patient is left behind. Communication between local services and specialist centres will be essential to prevent potential gaps in care that could result from this change.
A more digital and patient-centred health system
A key pillar of the 10 Year Health Plan is the enhanced use of technology across the NHS. Central to this vision are commitments to expand the NHS App, the introduction of a single patient record, and roll out of ‘My Care’ – all aimed at streamlining health records and ensuring people’s information is stored in one accessible place.
We hope these digital advancements will help reduce the administrative burden for those affected by brain tumours and other cancers, making it easier for individuals to access and manage their health information. It’s vital that this shift does not disadvantage those who are less digitally confident or face barriers to digital access.
Furthermore, a planned increase in digital technology must be paired with adequate protections around patient data. It’s important that there is an effective flow of data to help research and care, but there must be protections in place that prevent people’s data being misused.
Equally important is the Plan’s strong emphasis on patient voice, choice, and partnership – placing people at the centre of decisions about their care. This ambition is welcome, and we await further detail on how it will be delivered. Particularly, in light of recent funding cuts to NHS agencies that have played a key role in gathering and representing patient perspectives.
A focus on innovation
In its recently published Modern Industrial Strategy, the government highlighted that it believes that Life Sciences is one of the key sectors that could lead to improved economic growth. While a more detailed roadmap is due to be published, the 10 Year Health Plan includes some promising steps to support the sector.
Notably, the plan confirms the expansion of NICE’s technology appraisal process to cover devices, diagnostics, and digital products. Set to begin in 2026, this streamlining should make it easier for MedTech companies to navigate regulation and potentially bring innovations to patients more quickly.
The plan also sets a target to reduce clinical trial setup times in England to 150 days by March 2026 – a crucial step to making the UK more attractive for research and trials.
Throughout the plan, there is a clear emphasis on innovation, including the creation of global institutes to help the UK lead in science and research. Encouragingly, the plan also recognises barriers to adopting new technologies and promises a more coordinated approach, from horizon scanning to implementation, so that people can benefit from breakthrough treatments sooner. It’s noted that this approach will involve collaboration across public, private, and charitable sectors, particularly in high-impact areas like cancer.
For brain tumours, where diagnosis remains difficult and new treatment options have stalled for decades, this innovation agenda must deliver real change. We need to ensure that when new diagnostics and treatments emerge, they can reach the NHS frontline and the people who urgently need them. We look forward to working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and key partners to make this a reality.
Reaction from key stakeholders
Chief Executive of The Brain Tumour Charity, Dr Michele Afif shared “People affected by brain tumours continue to face delays, limited options and some of the poorest outcomes in cancer. The next steps must be bold, focused, and ensure no one is left behind and we look forward to working across the sector to make this happen.”
Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the ABPI, noted that parts of the 10 Year Health Plan are “very welcome” but added:
“The successful implementation of the NHS 10-Year Plan will require a fundamental shift in how the UK approaches innovative medicines and vaccines. For too long, the UK has viewed innovation as a cost to be avoided, rather than an investment that can improve health outcomes and system productivity.
“The UK must reverse decades of disinvestment in innovative medicines that is increasingly preventing NHS patients from accessing medicines that are available in other countries.”
Richard’s full thoughts can be found here.
Responding to the Health Plan, Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund said: “There are more than 150 pages of a vision of how things could be different in the NHS by 2035, but nowhere near enough detail about how it will be implemented. Without this detail it is hard to judge how the ambitions written on the page will make a difference to the reality of the care we receive over the next few years.”
Sarah’s full response can be found here.
What’s next?
This Plan sets a bold direction, but clarity on delivery and measurable outcomes will be essential to build trust and maintain momentum. We urge the Government and DHSC to publish an implementation roadmap — including how progress will be measured and how those with rare and complex diseases, like brain tumours, will be prioritised.
We now look ahead to the forthcoming National Cancer Plan, which must go further in tackling long-standing inequalities in outcomes. Our full submission to the consultation can be read here, where we advocate for the priorities in our National Brain Tumour Strategy:
- Faster, more efficient diagnosis
- Improved care
- Access to new and better treatments
- Increased pioneering research into brain tumours
For the 88,000 people in the UK living with a brain tumour, progress must be urgent, inclusive and measurable. We stand ready to work with Government and the wider sector to ensure this Plan delivers real change for those who need it most.