Digital Health and Care plan to form part of Sajid Javid’s NHS vision

The Health and Social Care Secretary is expected to set out his vision for the year ahead which includes the upcoming Digital Health and Care Plan.

Speaking in Liverpool at the NHS ConfedExpo conference on June 15, Sajid Javid is due to outline how the government is planning to tackle the Covid backlog, improve social care and narrow health inequalities.

The health secretary will also set out what the government will deliver over the next year, including a Digital Health and Care Plan, Health Disparities White Paper, 10-year plans on cancer, dementia, and mental health, a reset of the NHS Long Term Plan and a Health Education England workforce framework followed by the NHS’s first-ever 15-year workforce strategy.

Javid is expected to say: “I’ve been determined we keep moving forward, because this moment in time we dare not lose.

“It’s a moment when we can combine valuable lessons from the pandemic, with incredible new technology and innovative ways of working, which when taken together, help us face the challenges of the future.

“It’s a small window of time where we can make a big difference.”

Comprehensive plan

News of a Digital Health and Care Plan were first revealed in February 2022 during another speech delivered by Javid.

At the time, he said it would be a “comprehensive digital health plan” though no other details have been revealed.

He said at the time: “I am delighted to announce that in the Spring we will be publishing, for the first time, a comprehensive digital health plan, the next chapter of the story of digital transformation.

“It shows how we will be driving this digital change across all these areas I talked about today and building on the varied lessons from the pandemic.”