The NHS has just released its 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.
This document is the annual guidance provided by NHS England to its various organisations, outlining priorities, targets, and financial allocations for the upcoming year.
The waiting list debate
The 2025 annual guidance document provided by NHS England to its various organisations provided a route to simplification and a renewed focus on reducing waiting times in every aspect of the UK’s healthcare system.
The guidance document seems to have elicited a diverse reaction from the health tech industry.
Responses to the document’s waiting time focus vary from “it misses the bigger picture” (Nick Wilson, CEO of System C), and “it is key to restoring patient trust” (Kavita Parmar, co-founder of translation tech firm Word360), all the way to saying “it will clear the path to what matters” (Rachael Fox, ExecutiveVP of UK & EMEA at Altera Digital Health).
Both Chris Davies, CEO of The Institute of Clinical Science and Technology (ICST), and Paul Wye, Head of AI at healthcare software firm Answer Digital, believe that this focus is well aligned with the community-based care targets in the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Unaligned aims on preventative care?
“The ‘left shift’ in the NHS, as outlined in the 10-year plan, aims to prevent people from requiring more intensive care by focusing on early interventions and preventive measures,” Davies explained.
Preventative care is also mentioned in the 2025/26 planning guidance document. However some experts are concerned that the reduction in its presence from last year is a step in the wrong direction.
"It’s shocking that vital interventions, such as annual health checks for people with learning disabilities and women’s health hubs, are being scrapped,” said Rachael Grimaldi, CEO and co-founder of healthcare communications company CardMedic.
Is £22bn enough?
Grimaldi believes that the £22bn budget increase for health and social care funding will not be enough if preventative care and operational issues are not addressed.
Budget is another concern that experts have. Phil Bottle, Managing Director of workforce optimisation firm, SARD, has concerns about waste in the workforce budget. With cuts in agency staff spending targeted, the guidance document noticeably removed reference to the wellbeing of the NHS workforce.
Bottle said: “It’s well-known that there are huge amounts of waste in the system, but sweeping cuts in headcount – whether that’s substantive workforce or agency staff – are unsafe, and unethical. Trusts need more help in understanding how to utilise their workforce budgets appropriately .”
Simplification or streamlining?
Though there is some enthusiasm for the attempts to reduce waiting lists, and the reduction in the number of targets, the response is hesitant.
“Although it’s clear from the Planning Guidance that 2025/26 is going to be a demanding year, I’m pleased to see that the government is simplifying its mandate,” said Darren Ransley, Managing Director UK & Ireland of digital health platform Better.
Ransley is also glad to see that they are backing it with investment in data and digital.
But it is the consistency of this investment that is make or break for Julian Coe, Managing Director of the company behind Surgery Connect, X-on Health.
Coe said: “Without consistent support, the NHS will flounder, with levels of patient care ultimately likely to suffer as a result.
“There’s no national solution or quick fix, it requires tailored efforts at each practice.”