Analysis of the service strategy Approach Used in the NHS Long-Term Plan (Essay Sample)

Analysis of the service strategy Approach Used in the NHS Long-Term Plan Student’s Name Institution Course Instructor Date Introduction The National Healthcare Service (NHS) is a government-funded healthcare and medical service institution that offers medical assistance to everyone in the UK at no cost. The government caters to the whole cost of the services offered, often considered free at the point of use or delivery (Zaki et al., 2021). This essay aims to analyse a public service case, identify the strategy adopted by the public service sector, and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. The essay will be structured into three sections; section one will identify the public service case and provide a brief explanation of the case. Section two will analyse why the service strategy is the best choice in ensuring the successful implementation of the NHS long-term plan based on the PESTEL model, BCG matrix and a value chain analysis, and section three will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the adopted strategy in the public service case. The NHS Long-Term Plan Primarily, NHS was established to ensure the burden of compensating for medical services offered by every medical practitioner was shared by everyone, not only the ill and injured people. The initiative championed equal access to high-quality medical services by each UK resident regardless of financial ability (Thrakal, 2023). Seven key principles guide the NHS system. They include providing a comprehensive healthcare service to all, which aims to provide physical and mental healthcare services with equal regard by improving, preventing, diagnosing, or treating the condition (Department of Health & Social Care, 2021). Access to NHS services is based on clinical need rather than the ability to pay. NHS works towards high standards of excellence and professionalism, ensuring the patient is at the centre of all NHS undertakings and working across organisational boundaries. Recent circumstances have seen the system experience significant financial strain, especially with the advancement of medical technology that made hospital stays increasingly costlier (Zaki et al., 2021). Consequently, the performance of NHS has declined with increased waiting times experienced, rapid deterioration of funds, and workforce shortage. NHS’s long-term plan focuses on what the service can deliver and in what way (Zaki et al., 2021). The plan aims at improving the provision of priority services such as mental health, maternity, and cancer services. The reinvention of the NHS through its long-term plan seeks to examine how the 3.4% five-year NHS funding settlement will ensure the organisation follows a sustainable financial plan (Bhat et al., 2022). Strategic Analysis of the NHS Long-Term Plan Strategic planning is pivotal for any organisation as it provides a map the company can follow in the implementation process. There are four possible strategies a public company can adopt. They include the corporate strategy, directions, methods of development approach, a service strategy, or a partnership strategy (Cuganesan et al., 2012). Figure below identifies the strategies. Figure 1. Strategic Choices (McNabb & Lee, 2020) Before selecting the specific strategy, an organisation needs to perform a strategic analysis (Scholes & Johnson, 2001). The NHS long-term plan focuses on ensuring everyone can receive the best care by offering a more comprehensive service system (Tallon, 2010). Therefore, of the four strategies, the service strategy is the most suitable for the NHS long-term plan. The service strategy entails the bases of competitive strategy, the sustainability of competitive advantage, Competition, cooperation, and collaborative advantage (McNabb & Lee, 2020). Also, the service strategy seeks to empower people, support health and care professionals, improve the overall population health, support clinical care, and improve clinical efficiency and safety (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2022). The strategy achieves this by ensuring the plan is sustainable in the long run, depicting the advantage of collaboration, displaying the benefits of diversification, and displaying the importance of service differentiation and cost leadership. The efficacy of the service strategy is evaluated based on PESTEL model to assess external factors and the value chain analysis tool to assess the internal environment. Political factors include government policies and regulations, which may impact funding and resource allocation for the NHS (The Health Foundation, 2018). Economic factors include economic growth, inflation, and employment rates, which may affect the availability of resources and demand for healthcare services. The NHS is facing financial pressures due to increasing demand for healthcare services and increasing costs (Maguire, 2020). This could impact the implementation of the Long-Term Plan, as funding may be limited. Among the social factors that impact the NHS plan are, but not limited to demographic changes and evolving social attitudes (The Health Foundation, 2018). Notably, the UK’s aging population implies that there is increased demand for healthcare services, which directly impacts Long-Term Plan and its ability to deliver the projected outcomes (Cristea et al., 20202). The shifting social approaches towards health could also impact the Long-Term Plan realisation. Technological factors include advancements in medical technology and digital health solutions, which may improve efficiency and patient outcomes. The Long-Term Plan focuses on digital health technologies such as telemedicine and artificial intelligence (Stoumpos et al., 2023). However, technological advancements can also create new challenges for the NHS, such as cyber security risks. Environmental factors include climate change and environmental sustainability, which may impact public health. Extreme weather events can lead to increased demand for healthcare services (Ebi et al, 2021). Similarly, the Long-Term Plan focuses on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions. Legal factors include laws and regulations related to healthcare provision and patient rights (Dam, 2019). Overall, the NHS Long-Term Plan service strategy considers these external factors through its focus on prevention, digital transformation, workforce development, and sustainability. Political Economic Social Technological Environmental Legal * Government policies * Funding cuts * Inflation * Changes in taxation * Demographic change * Changing social attitudes * Cybersecurity risks * Medical technology * Extreme weather events * Sustainability * Data protection regulations * Employment laws. Figure 2: NHS Long-Term Plan PESTEL Analysis (Source: Author) A value chain analysis of NHS long-term plan reveals that it is focused on creating value for patients by improving access to healthcare services, enhancing the quality of care, and reducing costs (Buttigieg et al., 2016). The primary activities in the value chain include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. The inbound logistics involve procuring medical equipment and supplies, while operations involve delivering healthcare services (Buttigieg et al., 2016). Outbound logistics involve transporting patients to and from healthcare facilities, while marketing and sales involve promoting healthcare services to patients. Service activities involve providing aftercare services to patients (Kuipers et al., 2019). The NHS Long-Term Plan service strategy aims to optimise these activities by leveraging technology, improving workforce productivity, and enhancing patient engagement. The service strategy used in the long-term plan includes initiatives that would ensure the NHS workforce concerns were addressed and patients had access to medical practitioners (Kuipers et al., 2019). In addition, technology was developed to ease service provision by providing support to medical practitioners. Medical services were decentralised to ensure individuals can easily access treatment. The BCG matrix is an efficient approach when designing a long-term plan as it allows organisations to examine their growth opportunities by reviewing their portfolio of products, particularly to decide where to invest, discontinue or develop products The NHS Long-Term Plan service strategy can be analysed using the BCG matrix as demonstrated in figure 3. The matrix categorises services into four quadrants: Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, and Dogs. (Baškarada and Hanlon, 2018). Based on the BCG matrix, the accident and emergency department is the star service. The demand for services in these departments is high, but they, in turn, possess a high net social value. However, the NHS institutions are not able to match up with the demand. Emergency departments have not attained their performance targets since 2015, and targets for elective care have also been missed (Campbell, 2017). Therefore, the service strategy aims at alleviating the pressures experienced by these departments by introducing clinical streaming at the A&E departments and establishing urgent treatment centres (UTCs) across the country such that access to urgent care outside hospitals is more consistent (Pinchbeck, 2019). The question mark services include introducing drug treatment or rehabilitation centres as part of the issues addressed by the NHS. The bread and butter services include maternity, mental health, cancer, and cardiovascular disease treatments whose demand, albeit low, has a high net social value. Adopting the service strategy in the NHS long-term plan ensures all existing issues are covered, as shown by the public sector Boston matrix analysis of the plan. Figure 3 Public sector Boston matrix (Bovaird, 2009) Strengths and Weaknesses of the NHS long-term plan As ear...