The UK Government’s recent 10-Year Health Plan is not just another policy paper; it is a blueprint for a healthier, more resilient future. Its vision - to improve healthy life expectancy and reduce inequalities - demands a decisive shift from reactive treatment to proactive, preventative care.
For too long, the NHS has struggled with the relentless pressure of outdated infrastructure, workforce shortages, and fragmented systems. Now, the plan’s commitment to a joined-up, digitally enabled, prevention-focused ecosystem offers a vital path forward – one that is essential for the long-term resilience of our public services.
While the plan has garnered well-deserved praise, a pragmatic challenge looms large: turning vision into reality. Successful implementation hinges on closing the gap between policy intent and delivery. The risks are real, requiring rapid capacity building, operational clarity, and robust cross-sector partnerships.
At WSP, we believe the 10-Year Plan points the health system in the right direction. But the real test lies in translating aspiration into measurable outcomes for patients, communities, and clinicians. This shift calls for more than novel ideas: it demands innovative delivery models and a laser focus on the foundational pillar of prevention.
Forging healthier communities: From blueprint to reality
The crucial question is no longer "what" is the prevention agenda, but "how" do we deliver it? This means moving beyond traditional healthcare delivery and embracing innovation in partnership structures, funding models, and cross-sectoral collaboration to fundamentally reshape our living environments. Prevention starts with the intentional design of our communities - creating "health-generating" places where wellbeing is woven into the very fabric of daily life.
Integrated spatial planning and green infrastructure
Imagine communities where green and blue spaces are not afterthoughts but are seamlessly integrated to encourage physical activity and mental restoration. This could include expanding green social prescribing initiatives, ensuring accessible natural environments for everyone, and prioritising urban regeneration in deprived areas.
Prioritising active travel
Picture safe, accessible walking and cycling networks connecting homes, workplaces, and green spaces, reducing car reliance and promoting physical activity. Following the example of cities like, such infrastructure investments have created profound health benefits and reshaped urban living.
Cultivating multigenerational neighbourhoods
Look to global innovators like Singapore’s Kampung Admiralty or in the UK the Campus of Ageing and Vitality. We must design smart, age-friendly environments that facilitate social connection and support independent living for people of all ages, aligning with frameworks like ISO 25553.
Innovative funding and cross-sector collaboration
Delivering these preventative infrastructures requires more than public investment alone; it demands new funding mechanisms and integrated cross-sector collaboration.
Optimising public-private investment
We must unlock private sector capital and expertise by evolving Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models. This means focusing on long-term preventative infrastructure and outcomes, not just acute care facilities. To incentivise private investment in community health hubs, digital prevention platforms, and green infrastructure, we must design outcome-based contracts with effective risk-sharing. This leads to a critical question: Could agencies such as Natural England and Homes England act as “funders of first resort” for social infrastructure that generates health value - using an equity-centred population health metric that levels up outcomes everywhere. This would ensure benefits are experienced where people live, not traded off between areas - thus creating healthcare equality no matter where you live
Achieving government-wide alignment
Health outcomes are linked to factors far beyond traditional healthcare, including transport, housing, environmental quality, and education. True delivery requires breaking down silos—for example, embedding health impact assessments in planning and co-commissioning green social prescribing with environmental agencies. This means DHSC working in lockstep with other Departments such as DEFRA and MHCLG. A good case study here is the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which offers a powerful blueprint for embedding long-term, integrated thinking across public bodies.
A further point worth consideration is the opportunity to strengthen collaboration between corporate organisations and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. VCSEs are often closely aligned with the health and wellbeing needs of their local populations and are well positioned to drive preventative approaches. While corporate sponsorship tends to focus on large national charities, there is significant untapped potential in creating a more structured, place-based model. If devolved authorities were to formally ratify VCSEs within a recognised framework, it could enable corporates to commit to targeted three-to-five-year sponsorship programmes — aligning business investment with local priorities and delivering longer-term impact on prevention.
Leveraging digital inclusion
Digital technologies are a powerful accelerator for empowering proactive health management. Beyond the NHS app, we must ensure universal digital literacy and access to support personalised prevention plans and enable early intervention. Imagine a model where younger generations mentor older individuals in the use of digital health tools, fostering intergenerational connection while supporting wellbeing.
The regional imperative: Navigating competing priorities and securing spend confidence
The question of how to deliver preventative health becomes increasingly complex when viewed through a regional lens. Newly formed Mayoral Authorities, with their specific electoral mandates and devolved powers over areas such as housing and transport, hold significant levers for improving population health. However, spending choices are rarely straightforward. Investment in preventative infrastructure must be weighed against more immediate and visible demands in other areas. One local/regional authority may choose to prioritise active travel and green space, while another—perhaps facing acute infrastructure deficits—may focus on urgent transport fixes. These differing approaches can result in uneven investment and risk deepening regional health inequalities.
Building to last: Innovation and partnership in action
The NHS 10-Year Health Plan is ambitious, and rightly so. A resilient health system cannot rely on outdated models. Real change demands an agile ecosystem of innovative partnerships, workforce sustainability, and continuous improvement.
As implementation begins, WSP stands ready to partner with government and the wider sector to turn this vision into reality. With deep expertise in health planning, sustainable design, digital infrastructure, and capital programme delivery, we can help build a health system that lasts.
A resilient, inclusive health service - where everyone has the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives - will only be realised when it is built to last, with prevention and innovative delivery at its core.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anisha Mayor is the UK Head of Healthcare at WSP. She has worked for the past 20 years in government and healthcare infrastructure investment. She is the Chair of the Healthcare Expert Panel at New London Architecture, a Fellow of IHEEM and she sits on the British Property Federation’s Healthcare Committee.