Listening to Surrey's Voice on the 10-Year Plan

A comprehensive research and engagement programme was delivered locally to inform the development of the NHS 10-Year Plan and align national priorities with the specific needs of the Surrey Heartlands population. The work focused on capturing a broad range of insights from diverse communities, service users, and stakeholders, particularly those experiencing health inequalities.

Context and objectives

The NHS 10-Year Plan called for a transformation in health and care through three strategic shifts: from hospital to community-based services, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital healthcare. Surrey Heartlands undertook a structured engagement initiative to explore how these shifts could be meaningfully applied locally. The programme aimed to:

• Generate robust and representative insights across communities.
• Identify barriers and enablers specific to priority groups, including those outlined in the CORE20PLUS5 framework.
• Inform strategic alignment between local service delivery and national ambitions.

Engagement approach

A mixed-methods research design enabled both depth and breadth in the evidence base. Activities included:

• Focus Groups – Eight structured focus groups were delivered with public representatives, priority populations (including justice-involved individuals and young people), healthcare staff, and service providers. Each session explored perceptions of digital transformation, community care, and preventative health.  These sessions were based on a Surrey Heartlands version of the Workshop in a box material developed by NHS England and Thinks Insight and Strategy.
• In-Depth Interviews – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals from under-represented communities, including carers and people with disabilities, to surface personal experiences and system navigation challenges.
• Survey – A survey was run on the Citizen Panel to capture broad public views on the strategic shifts, particularly preferences and concerns related to digital healthcare, community-based care, and preventative services.
• Community Engagement Sessions – Facilitated discussions were held with selected community groups and networks, including Surrey Charities Forum, SMEF, and GP Patient Participation Groups.

Ethical standards were embedded throughout the process, ensuring informed consent, participant confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and voluntary involvement.

The findings from the engagement programme were compiled into a detailed report and used to inform the development of the Surrey Heartlands Clinical Strategy, as well as local contributions to NHS 10-Year Plan discussions. Insight gathered through the process has been shared with system partners to support strategic planning and future service design. The engagement also helped build a richer understanding of how local people view emerging priorities, and highlighted the value of targeted, inclusive approaches to community involvement.

Listening to Surrey's Voice on the 10-Year Plan

We believe that real change happens when the voice of our community is at the heart of our strategy. In 2025, we ran a major engagement programme to understand how people across Surrey Heartlands view the NHS 10-Year Plan. This national plan sets out three major shifts for the future of care, and our goal was to test whether these ambitions align with the needs and expectations of our local communities.

The findings of this programme, detailed in our report, The 10 Year Plan – A local perspective for Surrey (available on this page in January 2026) are now helping to shape how we deliver healthcare in our area.

How we listened to you

To capture a diverse range of perspectives, we used a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data.

• In-Depth Conversations: We held focus groups and detailed conversations with a wide range of participants, including members of the public, young people, people with experience of the criminal justice system, voluntary and community sector (VCSE) organisations, and NHS staff. These groups were specifically chosen to include voices less often heard in strategic planning.
• Public Survey: A short online survey was completed by over 1,100 members of the Citizens Panel, providing a broad snapshot of public attitudes towards the three strategic shifts. 

What you told us: Top priorities for Surrey Heartlands residents 

While there is broad, cautious support for the direction of the plan, your feedback highlighted a set of clear priorities and conditions that must be met for the changes to work effectively in Surrey.

Participants were clear that structural changes must first deliver tangible improvements to everyday services. The top priorities identified were: 

• Restore Confidence in Primary Care Access: You want the 'front door' to work, with better phone access, same-day capacity for urgent needs, and clearer advice on where to go. 
• Timely Mental Health Support: There is a need for clearer pathways and support for mental health, particularly for young adults, before problems reach a crisis point. 
• A Realistic Plan for NHS Dentistry: Participants asked for a credible local route back to accessing NHS dentistry. 
• Joined-up Care: Services must be better coordinated, with data sharing and navigation support to ensure the burden of connecting the dots does not fall on patients and carers.

Conditions for the three strategic shifts

Your support for the three national shifts is conditional on a few non-negotiable foundations being in place: 

1. Making better use of technology 

   • Digital must be optional and inclusive: Technology is welcomed if it reduces friction and streamlines services (e.g., single records, simple online booking). However, phone and face-to-face options must be protected as standard to ensure no one is excluded.

2. From hospitals to communities

   • Community care must be safe and trustworthy: There is support for moving care closer to home (e.g., through Pharmacy First or Community Diagnostic Centres). Confidence relies on clear clinical oversight, proper staffing, reliable options, and simple routes to escalate care if circumstances change.

3. Preventing sickness, not just treating it

   • Prevention must be visible and accessible: Participants believe in the importance of prevention but feel it is currently under-prioritised. You want earlier support in familiar, local settings like pharmacies, schools, and community hub. 

Moving Forward: What this means for Surrey Heartlands

The findings of this report provide a clear mandate for disciplined local delivery. We are committed to using this feedback to ensure our local plans are meaningful, equitable, and effective.  We will focus on: 

• Prioritising Early, Visible Wins: Implementing practical changes that residents feel quickly, such as improving call handling in general practice and providing clear advice on where to go.
• Standing Up an Inclusive Digital Front Door: Moving toward a single, reliable digital entry point for services, while ensuring non-digital options and assisted digital support remain available in trusted community venues.
• Designing for Equity: Using place-based planning to reach communities and patients facing the greatest barriers and working to address issues like transport and rural access.