Following the publication of the government’s 10-Year Plan, the Universal Care Plan (UCP) programme is well placed to support delivery across the three major shifts in care:

• Treatment to prevention

• Hospital to community

• Analogue to digital

Designed with and for Londoners, it is already helping translate national ambitions into regional delivery.

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams are forming across London as part of the national drive towards proactive, community-based care. The UCP team is working closely with proactive care leads to explore how the platform can best support the management of high-risk populations, such as those living with frailty or multiple long-term conditions. In Bexley, the UCP is supporting a proactive care pilot that ensures individuals with multiple co-morbidities have a completed care plan. This supports urgent and community services to make better-informed decisions during episodes of crisis. Similar discussions and developments are underway across other London boroughs.

Personalised Care Planning

Personalised Care Planning is a key take away from the 10-year plan with a new standard set, to increase the provision of care plans for people with complex needs to 95% by 2027. The UCP has been co-designed by clinicians across all sectors in London, including personalised care leads and is increasingly being adopted to support care for people with complex needs. The programme is also working in collaboration with NHS England’s learning disability and dementia networks to support implementation in pilot sites such as Camden and Islington contributing to the new standard.

Enhanced NHS App Functionality

Enhanced NHS App Functionality is an exciting prospect for the public. We are pleased to share that UCP is already accessible to patients via the NHS App, with over 200,000 accesses. The next phase of development will enable editable fields for patients, allowing individuals to contribute directly to sections such as “What matters to me”, ensuring care plans reflect personal stories and values alongside clinical needs.

Care in the Community

By providing a single care plan across urgent, community, and primary care, the UCP helps reduce avoidable hospital conveyance and supports care to be delivered in community settings. In North London Marie Curie has funded a project, employing health and well being coaches to complete UCP’s, taking pressure of clinical staff working across primary care.

A Single Shared Record

The UCP offers a single joined-up, person-centred care plan that is visible across the system and accessible to the individual. It supports better coordination of care, safer care, and continuity across care settings.

Empowerment Through Digital Tools

Through integration with the NHS App, the UCP is helping to deliver a more personalised, coordinated, and digitally enabled care experience, aligned with the wider ambition to give patients more control over their health and care information.

Nick Tigere, Head of the Universal Care Plan Programme, reflects:

“I am delighted to see that care planning is placed at the heart of the 10 year health plan’s strategy, especially for people with complex and end‑of‑life needs. The UCP is well placed to support the ambition of ensuring 95% of people with complex needs have a collaboratively developed care plan – one that addresses both medical and wider support needs by 2027.

The health plan provides a valuable opportunity to assess our progress, identify gaps, and refine future strategies. As a programme, the UCP remains committed to enhancing patient-centred care by improving accessibility and continuity of care, strengthening coordination among healthcare providers, and integrated technology and data systems. Our focus continues to be on supporting personalised care for the most vulnerable populations.

Whilst we’ve made significant progress, we know that challenges remain – particularly around ensuring seamless access. Sustainable care planning depends on strong interdisciplinary collaboration and trust among stakeholders. Our digital tools must be intuitive and seamlessly accessible for both patients and care providers. That’s why I am committed to listening, learning, and working collaboratively across all aspects of our programme.”