July has arrived, and with it comes both change and opportunity. While the NHS continues to evolve, our shared mission to improve health and wellbeing across our communities remains as important as ever. I want to take a moment to reflect on the big headlines nationally and highlight some of the incredible work happening locally across Norfolk and Waveney (N&W) and Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE).

A New 10-Year Vision for the NHS

On 3rd July, the Government published the long-awaited NHS Long Term Plan. It’s a bold and necessary step forward, shaped by input from the public, patients, NHS staff and partners. I’m especially pleased to see a clear emphasis on the Government’s “three shifts”:

• From hospital to community – making it easier for people to get the care they need closer to home, including mental health, dental and GP access.
• From analogue to digital – embracing technology to deliver joined-up care and enable patients to access services in smarter, simpler ways.
• From sickness to prevention – helping people stay well, with targeted efforts around weight loss, child health, and home testing.

It’s encouraging to see a vision that mirrors so much of what we are already working towards locally. Let me share a few standout examples.

From Hospital to Community

Our focus on bringing care closer to home continues to develop, especially through neighbourhood teams, where integrated working and local decision-making can have the biggest impact.

As part of shaping neighbourhood health provision within Norfolk and Waveney, Great Yarmouth and Waveney Place partners have worked together to develop Health Connect – a preventative and proactive care navigation service. This initiative helps residents access practical and emotional support in their own homes, speeding up recovery and reducing the risk of hospital readmission.

Originally launched in 2021, Health Connect was inspired by the Aging Well Wellingborough programme, which has since expanded to create local integrated neighbourhood teams and been recognised by NHS England as a best practice model for neighbourhood care. Since then, the local team has grown to include six Health Connectors, hosted by East Coast Community Health, and a respiratory-focused case worker hosted by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

A significant proportion of Health Connect referrals come after hospital discharge. In collaboration with Voluntary Norfolk, the team has contacted over 12,000 residents soon after returning home. Around 25% (approximately 3,000 people) needed some form of care navigation, practical support, or emotional reassurance to help their recovery and independence. This has helped identify and address unmet needs, including those linked to health inequalities and wider social determinants of health.

A similar commitment to supporting people closer to home is also evident in Suffolk and North East Essex, where a service part-funded by the ICB, local authorities and the national Better Care Fund has prevented hospital readmission for more than 30 people over the past year. Known as Stepping-Stone Homes, the service provides short-term, supported accommodation across Colchester and Tendring for adults – primarily over 55 – who want to live independently but need temporary support to get there. With an enablement focus, this service helps bridge the gap between hospital discharge and fully independent living, supporting residents in regaining confidence and stability.

Health Connect and Stepping-Stone Homes are two excellent examples of how neighbourhood models are being tailored to local needs – building resilience, preventing escalation and keeping people well in the communities they call home.

From Analogue to Digital

Across our hospitals, the countdown is on to go live with electronic patient records (EPRs). In SNEE, ESNEFT (Ipswich and Colchester hospitals) will launch EPIC later this year – the result of years of preparation. N&W’s three acute hospitals are also on track to introduce their own EPR system by April.

EPRs are more than just a move away from paper. They are a step-change in how patients experience care and how our teams work together across organisations. And it’s not just hospitals leading the way. Primary care in N&W is already showing digital leadership – most recently with an award-winning AI-powered skin cancer detection pathway in North East Essex. This innovative service allows patients to self-refer using QR codes on GP websites, with diagnoses and treatment plans turned around in days.

From Sickness to Prevention

Prevention is my personal passion, so I’m thrilled to report that both N&W and SNEE ranked among the top systems nationally for their seasonal vaccination efforts. Norfolk and Waveney achieved 62% uptake for COVID-19 vaccines (7th in England) and 61.6% for flu (25th), while Suffolk and North East Essex came in close behind with 58.8% for COVID (15th) and 58.9% for flu (27th). These figures are well above the national averages and speak volumes about the dedication of our teams.

In a national first, I’m also delighted to highlight that Nayland Road Pharmacy in Colchester recently delivered the first ever maternal pertussis vaccine in a Community Pharmacy setting. It’s a milestone moment that showcases how prevention and innovation can come together beautifully.

And there’s more. In Clacton, a new pilot is launching to offer NHS Health Checks to people aged 30 to 39, aimed at the early identification and modification of cardiovascular disease risk. Called the Early Age Health Check, the service has been designed in response to local needs – particularly the significantly lower healthy life expectancy and higher prevalence of long-term conditions in Clacton and the wider Tendring area. This targeted intervention could help transform lives through earlier diagnosis and support, addressing longstanding health inequalities and creating a new model for proactive prevention.

Together, these initiatives illustrate how we are putting prevention at the heart of our system, helping people live longer, healthier lives.

Staying Well This Summer

As the weather heats up again, we recently published some helpful advice alongside our summer campaign on how to stay well in the heat. With temperatures fluctuating lately up to 30 degrees, we reminded our communities to use high-factor sunscreen, stay hydrated, and avoid the sun during peak hours (11am–3pm). Older people, babies, young children, and those with long-term conditions are especially vulnerable in hot weather so we advised people of dehydration signs—including dizziness, confusion, and dark urine—and encouraged people to drink fluids regularly. You can read the full press release here.

Navigating Change with Care

Of course, all of this is happening amid ongoing structural change across our organisations. The appointment of new Chairs and Chief Executives is progressing, and we expect to launch our staff consultation on the proposed structure for a combined Norfolk and Suffolk ICB on 14 August.

I know this uncertainty is unsettling. Many of you are also affected by wider changes across NHSE, local providers, HealthWatch and CSU functions. Please be kind to yourself and your colleagues – your continued focus on supporting patients and each other during such turbulent times is deeply appreciated.

Have Your Say on the Future of NHS Dentistry

The Department of Health and Social Care, with NHS England, has recently launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the NHS dental contract.

The consultation outlines plans to improve access to and quality of NHS dental care, including 700,000 more urgent dental appointments each year, better support for patients with complex needs, and stronger incentives for preventative care.

The consultation is open until 11:59pm on 19 August. I encourage you to share your views and help shape the future of NHS dentistry. You can take part via this link.

And Finally… Some Fantastic News

I’m absolutely thrilled to share that the University of East Anglia has received approval from the General Dental Council to open a dental school – a major milestone in tackling long-term workforce challenges in dentistry. It’s fantastic news for patients and aspiring dental professionals across the East of England. The next step will be for the government to enable the allocation of undergraduate places, but this marks real progress toward a brighter future for dental care in our region.

And equally exciting – The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn has been approved as a teaching hospital following a rigorous quality assurance process. Soon to be renamed The Queen Elizabeth Teaching Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, this marks a significant achievement in its journey of clinical excellence and education.

Thank you again for everything you do – for your teams, your patients, and our communities.

Warm wishes,

Frankie