Sustainability and Transformation Plans: 5 key questions for planners
This analysis identifies five key questions to ask of each of England's 44 'Sustainability and Transformation Plans'.
Each STP has been produced by a local Sustainability and Transformation Partnership formed with the task of transforming the provision of NHS services in a given area, as part of efforts to close the NHS's unprecedented 'funding gap'.
The plans, which each cover an average population of about 1.25 million, have been produced under extreme time pressure and in the absence of a legal basis for joint planning between the different organisations in the NHS and local government that are involved.
It is crucial that the STPs receive effective scrutiny - this paper aims to set out a framework for assessing their potential impacts based upon the following questions:
Will there be enough staff with the right skills?
Will there be enough beds?
Will there be good access to non-emergency (elective) care?
Will NHS care still be good quality care?
Will NHS care be effectively complemented by social care and public health measures?
