How Somerset helped shape the new plan
The voice of Somerset was well represented in the creation of the new 10 Year Health Plan.
The numbers speak for themselves – more than 4,500 people took part, 789 conversations were held, 130 online survey responses were received and 49 engagement events were attended – and all within the space of a few months.
Last autumn, the Government announced its intention to stage the biggest conversation about the future of the NHS in its history and NHS Somerset’s communications and engagement team stepped up to lead a wide-ranging programme across the county.
Led by Engagement & Insight Lead Officer Kat Tottle, the engagement was designed to be inclusive, using accessible materials and working closely with partners such as Healthwatch Somerset and Spark Somerset to reach seldom-heard groups and ensure that every voice could shape the nation’s future healthcare strategy.
Running from November 2024 to March 2025, the work built on 2024’s Somerset’s Big Conversation and took place through a mix of in-person events, targeted outreach, and online engagement.
The programme focused on three proposed shifts in healthcare delivery:
- Hospital to Community
- Analogue to Digital
- Sickness to Prevention
Kat said: “It was a challenge to make it happen in a short timeframe but we have a programme of ongoing engagement with local people, so it was a chance to use our established networks and build new relationships.
“We heard from local people, health and care staff, community groups, children and young people, rural communities, veterans, and the VCFSE sector – and it was clear people care deeply about the NHS and are passionately interested in its future. Thank you to everyone who took part and supported the programme.
“We made it clear that the findings would not just be sent into the national programme but would be shared with health leaders here to shape our local work. They are also feeding into a regional analysis to strengthen collaborative work across county borders. The findings are fascinating and I’d recommend taking the time to read through the reports we produced.”
Feedback from the public
The feedback gathered provided a clear understanding of what matters most to people in Somerset, including:
- Accessible local care
- Digital inclusion
- Early support for mental and physical health
- A joined-up, person-centred system that reflects the realities of our communities.
Aligning the feedback received into the three shifts, people told us the following mattered to them.
Shift 1: Hospital to community
There was strong support for care closer to home, seen as more personal and effective, particularly in rural areas, but it was clear that to make this work well, there was a need for investment in transport, workforce, and infrastructure to make this both equitable and sustainable.
Shift 2: Analogue to digital
This shift was welcomed for its potential to improve efficiency and access, but there were concerns about digital exclusion, data privacy, and the loss of face-to-face care, especially among older and rural residents.
Shift 3: Sickness to prevention
Keeping people well was seen as a compassionate and cost-effective approach, with strong support for mental health, early intervention, and tackling root causes like poverty and poor housing. However, people were sceptical about whether prevention would be properly funded or supported across sectors.
We also received feedback and concerns about the current healthcare system. These concerns included, long waiting times, particularly for GP and dental appointments, difficulties navigating complex, fragmented services and a frustration at having to repeat medical history multiple times due to poor integration between services.
Other feedback
People also expressed a fear about NHS privatisation, while they were keen on a cultural shift towards more joined-up, person-centred care that prioritises keeping people well alongside high-quality healthcare when people need it.
Staffing shortages, burnout, and low morale across the NHS workforce were also highlighted as major barriers to delivering timely, high-quality care.
You can read the full details of the engagement programme and its findings the full report as presented to the NHS Somerset Board in 2025 and a summary report by clicking on the buttons below:
Our continuous engagement programme this summer with Somerset’s Big Conversation 2025, which includes a focus on finding out local views on delivering the 10 Year Health Plan’s hospital to community shift. To find out more, please visit: Somerset's Big Conversation 2025 - NHS Somerset ICB
The three shifts in action in Somerset
The three key shifts at the heart of the new 10 Year Health Plan can already be seen in action in Somerset.
The plan aims to ‘take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS’ so realising the three shifts will be about expanding successful neighbourhood working and embedding it in communities across the county.
Shift one - Hospital to Community
Support for the armed forces community - Around 50,334 people living in Somerset (9% of our population) make up our armed forces community including veterans, serving personnel and their families.
As part of the support we offer, we have two armed forces hubs (in partnership with Ark at Egwood and Arc) providing advice and support tailored to individual needs.
Last year, we opened armed forces outreach services in Bridgwater and Yeovil where veterans, serving personnel and their families can have a brew and banter and meet Somerset NHS Armed Forces Link Workers, as well as representatives from many other agencies.
The service is also being expanded. A weekly breakfast club runs at Ark at Egwood while all GP practices in Somerset are now Royal College of GPs Veteran Accredited. Read more here.
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s High Intensity Use service
The service helps people who regularly attend Somerset’s emergency departments get additional help to find services that can better meet their needs.
It was set up in August 2023 to monitor and provide support to those patients who frequently use A&E, helping to identify the unmet need and get people the right care in the right place.
As of December 2024, the service had supported 141 people, who previously had 1,963 A&E attendances between them. Following the HIU service’s involvement, their attendances fell to 1,189 – a reduction of 48% across all ages. Read more here.
Pharmacy First
Since its launch in January 2024, 95% of community pharmacies in Somerset are now taking part in the Pharmacy First programme, providing local people with a convenient alternative to GP appointments for seven minor conditions.
Since then, the initiative has freed up thousands of GP appointments in Somerset (over 8,000 in the first six months), providing local people with quick access to expert advice and treatment and allowing general practice teams to focus on more complex cases.
The service covers conditions such as sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Community pharmacists are experts in medicines and minor illness management, providing clinical advice and NHS medicines, including some antibiotics when necessary. Read more here.
Shift two - Analogue to Digital
Brave AI risk assessment tool
The “Brave AI” risk assessment tool helps health professionals identify individuals who are at risk of going to hospital next year but who may otherwise go under the radar.
The tool works by using computer algorithms (machine learning artificial intelligence) to look for patterns in registered patients’ records, the technology assesses an individual’s risk of unplanned hospital admission in the next year.
Those people identified can then be invited to take part in a holistic assessment so that local, integrated neighbourhood teams of health and care professionals (nurses, pharmacists, therapists, health coaches, social prescribers, and doctors) can work together to develop a personalised care and support plan, based on what matters to the individual.
In a pilot carried out in care homes in Somerset, falls were reduced by 35%, attendances to Emergency Departments by 60%, and ambulance callouts by 8.7%. Read more here.
Hospital at Home
Hospital@Home can help people to leave hospital sooner or avoid a hospital stay altogether, and provides the same treatment and level of care as a patient would receive in hospital.
Patients are closely monitored in the comfort and familiarity of their own home by a team of experienced clinicians such as consultants, nurses, therapists, healthcare assistants and social workers.
Monitoring takes place using a variety of methods, tailored to each patient including, telephone or video consultations, or in some cases remote digital monitoring devices.
Research shows that patients recover quicker in the comfort of their own home, enjoying their independence and normal routine. Read more here.
Somerset Integrated Digital e-Record – SIDeR+
SIDeR+ shared care record gives a safe and secure overview of a patient’s health and social care information in one digital record.
Launched in November 2020, it is being continually developed and improved and now live with information from all Somerset GP Practices, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Somerset Council adult and children's social care, public health nursing, a number of practices close to Somerset in Devon and Dorset and St Margaret’s Hospice. It also holds a number of Care Plans so that all teams involved in a person’s care know what matters to them most and how they would like to be treated.
SIDeR+ ensures the right information is available to the right person, at the right time, enabling health and social care professionals in Somerset to see the most up-to-date information about you when you attend to receive care. Read more here.
Shift three - Sickness to Prevention
Smokefree Somerset
NHS Somerset and Somerset Council’s public health team are working towards making the county smokefree by 2030.
That means supporting 45,000 more people in Somerset to quit smoking by 2030, bringing the rate below 5% of the population. We have already made remarkable progress in Somerset, reducing the number of smokers from 81,000 to 60,000.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature death, with two out of three people who smoke dying earlier than they should due to smoking.
In March 2025, partners launched What’s Your Why? a public campaign aiming to promote the benefits of quitting and support people along the journey. Read more here.
Open Mental Health
Somerset’s The Open Mental Health approach was codesigned not only across organisations but by involving and including people with lived experiences.
In Somerset, Open Mental Health is an alliance of mental health organisations who have come together to provide 24/7 support to adults in Somerset.
The shared ambition is to ensure that people living with mental health problems get the right support at the right time. Working together, people are supported to live a full life, by enabling access to specialist mental health services, housing support, debt and employment advice, volunteering opportunities, peer support, community activities and physical exercise, to help support and improve their wellbeing and quality of life.
Open Mental Health uses a locality model at to ensure that individuals get the right care with their mental health. Read more here.
Take the Pressure Off hypertension campaign
Health and care partners are working together on the successful ‘Take the Pressure Off’ campaign – an initiative dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of regular blood pressure monitoring.
Around 3 in 10 adults in Somerset have high blood pressure but it is thought 1 in 10 do not know it.
The campaign is running across workplaces, public spaces and events throughout Somerset. Just over 3,000 tests were carried out in 2024 resulting in more than 1,000 people discovering they had high readings and should seek medical assistance, while a further 1,000 people were made aware that they were at increased risk of hypertension.
The campaign supported wider messaging on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, with information provided on ways to easily and affordably improve lifestyle and fitness. Read more here.
