UK Government Healthcare Announcement of 10-Year Plan for Transformation of National Health Service (NHS) England

Note: the NHS comprises four UK-wide sub-units; NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, HSC Northern Ireland, all of which serve their respective nations. The current 10-Year Plan concerns NHS England. 

Public satisfaction with the NHS, which peaked in 2009, had by the summer of 2024 fallen to a historic low. Waiting lists and times for time-critical surgeries had surged, with nearly 10% of all A&E patients having to wait more than 12 hours to receive care, and the quality of care provided - in areas like cancer and maternity care - had declined markedly. The Darzi Report which came out in the summer of 2024, and which ultimately ended up exposing these failings, warned that the service was in ‘critical condition’ and that it would likely take years to nurse it back to good health. Widely regarded as one of the UK’s national treasures, it was partly on the mandate of fixing NHS England’s systemic discontents that the current Government was elected to office. 

Almost exactly one year later, on the 3rd of July 2025, the Government announced its 10-Year Plan for doing so. Broadly speaking, the plan rests on three pillars:

1. The Modernization of Healthcare: Namely, through the rollout of a nationwide NHS app, but also through updating     existing digital infrastructure and investing in AI.
2. Preventative Healthcare: Through encouraging healthier lifestyles in children and young adults and discouraging destructive habits like alcoholism and smoking.
3. The Devolution of Healthcare to Local Communities: Specifically, through the foundation of nationwide units of Neighborhood Health Services.

For U.S. businesses in the Healthcare and AI sectors, opportunities lie largely within the first pillar. As part of future-proofing the NHS workforce, the plan aims to ‘make AI every nurse’s and doctor’s trusted assistant’ and ‘develop advanced practice models’ which raises the prospect of contracts with U.S. businesses specializing in the development of agentic AI or medical training tools. For U.S. businesses specializing in biotech and medical devices, the plan’s aspiration to ‘make wearables standard in preventative chronic and post-acute treatment by 2035’ and ‘expanding surgical robot adoption’ present further opportunities to win contracts with the NHS. 

U.S. companies have a worldwide reputation for innovative products, after sales service, and training which makes them competitive in the UK market. The U.S. and UK also share similar business cultures and business practices, which makes the UK an attractive market for U.S. suppliers.

For more information, contact Stephen Brown at Stephen.Brown@trade.gov.