A Framework for Action

In December 2006, NHS London (the Strategic Health Authority for London) asked Professor Lord Darzi to develop a strategy to meet Londoners' health needs over the next five to 10 years. Lord Darzi identified eight reasons why the time was right for a co-ordinated programme of change across London:

1. The need to improve Londoners' health
2. The NHS is not meeting Londoners' expectations
3. One city, but big inequalities in health and healthcare
4. The hospital is not always the answer
5. The need for more specialised care
6. London should be at the cutting edge of medicine
7. Not using our workforce and buildings effectively
8. Making the best use of taxpayers money

NHS London published A Framework for Action on 11 July 2007. The report takes into account the views of patients, public, staff and partner organisations, and also considers national and local patient and public surveys. A Framework for Action details how London's healthcare needs to change over the next 10 years.

Five principles

Five principles emerged in the development of A Framework for Action:

  • Services should be focused on individual needs and choices;
  • Services should be localised where possible and regionalised where that improves the quality of care;
  • There should be joined-up care and partnership working, maximising the contribution of the entire workforce;
  • Prevention is better than cure;
  • There must be a focus on reducing differences in health and healthcare.

Download the documentation

The document can be downloaded here in full or in summary.

Six clinical working groups were established to feed into the Healthcare for London: A Framework for Action review. Each working group looked at a specific area of healthcare and produced a final report as part of their work: