Become a Friend of Sue Ryder with a regular donation and be part of something very special.
Government publishes NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England
03 Jul 2025
Sue Ryder and the hospice sector will be a key partner in ensuring the success of the 10 Year Health Plan. We are happy to see the Government has put such emphasis on delivering more personalised care in the community.
Today, the Government released the long-awaited 10 Year Health Plan, setting out major reforms for the NHS in England. Key highlights include:
Shift to community-based care: Some funding will move from hospitals into new Neighbourhood Health Centres, open 12 hours a day, six days a week, putting NHS, local authority and voluntary services all in one place.
Same-day GP access and digital-first services: Thousands more GPs, same-day appointments, and an expanded NHS App will support easier booking, self-referral and health advice.
More personalised care: Offering Personal Health Budgets to 1 million people by 2030, helping to improve access to personalised, home-based palliative and end-of-life care.
Investment in workforce and training: Funding for nurse consultants, community teams and hospice outreach roles, along with 1,000 new specialty training posts and 2,000 nursing apprenticeships, to address workforce shortages and strengthen services.
What does this mean for hospices and palliative and end-of-life care?
More care at home: Neighbourhood Health Centres will bring the NHS, local councils, and voluntary services together in one place, making it easier to coordinate care close to home. Rapid response teams will support urgent needs outside hospital, and more access to Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) means people can use this money to plan and pay for personalised care, which could help people at end of life access better care at home.
Joined-up planning: By 2027, 95% of people with complex needs should have a personalised care plan (a tailored health and support plan created with the individual, reflecting their needs, preferences, and goals for care), with unpaid carers actively involved in decisions.
Local partnerships: Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will shape joined-up neighbourhood teams, which will include palliative care and hospice teams, bringing together NHS, local authority and voluntary sector solutions.
James Sanderson, Chief Executive at Sue Ryder said:
“Sue Ryder and the hospice sector will be a key partner in ensuring the success of the10 Year Health Plan. We are happy to see the Government has put such emphasis on delivering more personalised care in the community. We’ve been calling for this as most people want to be cared for at home when they are at the end of their life. And to make sure the proposed neighbourhood health model delivers for patients, the hospice sector must be seen as an equal partner.
Today’s announcement talks about 95% of people living with complex needs having a personalised care plan. This will have a positive impact for people with a terminal illness, making sure they get the care and support they deserve.
The focus on equality of access to care is also welcomed as deprived communities are more likely to rely on hospitals when they are dying. We share this ambition to ensure all dying people get the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Our vision for a new ecosystem for palliative and end-of-life care addresses this, and also calls for different models of care within hospitals as one in three hospital beds is currently occupied by someone in the last year of their life.
A vital next step for the Government is to work with us and commit to a national strategy for palliative care, which will be central to achieving the ambitions the Government has for the wider future of the NHS.”
A vital next step for the Government is to work with us and commit to a national strategy for palliative care.
Our Chief Executive, James Sanderson, sets out Sue Ryder's recommendations to the Government on how the NHS 10-Year Plan can support terminally ill people.
We listen carefully to people who are dying, their loved ones and the professionals that support them, and we campaign to make sure everyone can have a good death.
