The NHS Confederation, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and National Voices have recently come together to carry out a joint project on the reconfiguration of healthcare.

There is a growing consensus that change is needed to take advantage of modern healthcare techniques, meet the needs of an older population, and enable the NHS to live within its means.

The NHS Confederation, Academy and National Voices joint work will assess:

• what change is necessary and why;
• the benefits to the public and how risks might be managed;
• the barriers that have hampered change and how they might be overcome;
• the principles that should govern any proposals, including the role of the public and clinicians;

This joint work will provide practical advice on the implementation of service change, looking at where reform has gone well and where it has not.

Joint teams will over the next few months carry out interviews and hold a workshop with NHS leaders, clinicians, patient representatives and MPs around the country to inform this work. The project will also draw on the expertise of the NHS Confederation’s Hospitals Forum and Community Health Services Forum.

The organisations plan to jointly publish the final report at the NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition in June 2013.

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“This has the potential to be a powerful coalition for change. It is certainly one which would be foolish for politicians and policy makers to ignore. We need to make progress on behalf of the public and we need  the leaders of NHS trusts, clinicians and patients to be shoulder to shoulder on the big issues.  

"I hope the project will inform the public and the political debate about what needs to happen, as well as give valuable insight and practical tools to those commissioning and providing services."

Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, said:

“Service reconfiguration is at the top of the Academy’s agenda and we have been heavily involved in taking elements forward, such as seven-day acute care. For the NHS to continue to deliver high quality patient care we recognise that the provision of healthcare services has to change. Increased patient expectation and personalisation of healthcare combined with community focus and technological changes mean that we cannot sit still on this. The Academy is pleased to be part of this joint project and we believe that by providing a national view the necessary consistent approach will follow locally.”

Jeremy Taylor, chief executive of National Voices, said:

“Reconfiguration should always be about better outcomes for patients. Getting it right means listening to what patients, carers, service users and local communities tell commissioners and providers. We look forward to working with our members, the NHS Confederation and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to ensure people get the right care, at the right time and in the right place.”