NHS partners (Integrated Care Boards (ICB) and all NHS Trusts in the ICB’s geography) are required to produce a Five-Year Joint Forward Plan (JFP).  The Health and Wellbeing Board is asked to reconfirm its endorsement of the refreshed plan given the updates that have been included in 2025/26 iteration, and to agree any amended wording to its supporting opinion as necessary.

David Mehaffey presented the ‘NHS Five Year Joint Forward Plan 2025/26 - 2029/30, Driving the shift upstream to more prevention and best value care in the right setting’, and made comments about: the interconnections between the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the NHS Five Year Joint Forward Plan, and the Integrated Care Strategy; and the main changes between the original publication of the NHS Five Year Joint Forward Plan in June 2023 and the refreshed plan, as identified in paragraph 6 of the covering report (agenda page 87).

The matters discussed by the board included:

1.           With attention drawn to theme 6, ‘High quality, patients centred services: learning disability and autism care’, references were made to the ‘digital flag’ programme (indicating that reasonable adjustments are required for an individual in the patient record) and to the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme (enabling the NHS workforce to better support people with a learning disability and autistic people).  The Chairperson said that Wye Valley NHS Trust found the digital flag to be helpful and training was provided to staff by a learning disability nurse but acknowledged that there was more work to be done.

2.           The Joint Forward Plan would continue to be refreshed on an annual basis, so would be updated to reflect the 10 Year Health Plan for England, once published, in the 2026/27 iteration.

3.           The position with temporary closures of minor injuries units in Herefordshire, with Simon Trickett commenting that Wye Valley NHS Trust had not found a way to provide safe care with appropriate and suitably qualified staff, and there was a need for consideration to be given to the long-term future for those services.

Resolved:  That the updates that have been included in 2025/26 iteration be noted and the refreshed plan be endorsed.