The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that under the 10-Year Health Plan “patients will receive the most cutting-edge treatments years earlier than planned”, meaning that clinical trials will speed up and make the UK a “hotbed of innovation”.
This new announcement marks the first step of the 10-Year Health Plan, giving the public direct access to sign up for “life-changing clinical trials” via the NHS App.
Patients will be able to find trials that fit their interests and needs, allowing them to be more involved with the process.
The feature will enable the app to automatically match patients with relevant clinical trials based on their health data, search history, and sign-ups, while also sending notifications about new trials they can join.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said, “The UK has been at the forefront of scientific and medical discovery throughout our history. Some country will lead the charge in the emerging revolution in life sciences, and why shouldn’t it be Britain?”
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) launched a UK-wide recruitment drive for clinical trials to get as many people involved in research as possible.
This new initiative will help the NHS to cut waiting times for clinical trials. The Health Plan will introduce a standardised clinical trial contract with the aim to “save months of wasted time, as well as simplify paperwork to remove duplication on technical assurances.”
In recent years, the UK has lost its global reputation as a leader in clinical trials. Currently it takes up to 250 days to set a trial in the NHS; meanwhile, it can take less than 100 days in Spain. By March 2026, the setup for the clinical trials is aimed to fall to 150 or less.
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR, said: “We know the benefits of embedding clinical research across the NHS and beyond.
“It leads to better care for patients, more opportunities for our workforce and provides a huge economic benefit for our health and care system.”
“Integrated into the NHS App, the NIHR Be Part of Research service enables members of the public to be matched to vital trials, ensuring the best and latest treatments and care get to the NHS quicker.”
“Ensuring all sites are consistently meeting the 150-day or less set-up time will bring us to the starting line, but together we aim to go further, faster to ensure the UK is a global destination for clinical research to improve the health and wealth of the nation.”
The Health Plan additionally seeks to revise and qualify which trusts are performing well in regard to their clinical trials. All NHS Trusts and organisations will have to submit the data of their trials, including the number of trials being done and the progress they have made.
The number of trials sponsored by commercial and non-commercial sponsors at specific trusts and other entities, such as universities or primary care sites, will be reported publicly.
The data will show the government, patients, investors, and trustee boards which NHS organisations are doing well and which are lagging behind.
Trusts that can assist the NHS in delivering tomorrow’s treatments and help the government decide where to allocate investment.
Nicola Perrin, Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said: “This announcement will help to maximise opportunities for everyone to take part in research and speed up access to innovative treatments.
“We warmly welcome the focus on driving up the participation of diverse and underserved groups – something that is incredibly important to our member charities.”
What is the 10-Year Health Plan?
The 10-Year Health Plan, which is also referred to as the NHS Long Term Plan, is the government’s initiative to improve and transform the NHS to be “fit for the future”.
The government referred to it as a way to “truly create a modern health service designed to meet the changing needs of our changing population”.
It was announced in October 2024 shortly after Labour’s General Election victory, marking the first stage of the government plan to recover the NHS from the crisis the UK health system had faced since the Covid-19 pandemic and after years of insufficient funding.
As part of the plan, Change NHS was open for the British public to share their experiences and ideas, giving a voice to the people. It ran for several months as an online portal and had over 220,000 contributions from the public and health and care staff. The contributions from the public were intended to inform the government’s approach to the 10-Year Health Plan.
The Heath Plan has three main focuses: Moving care from hospitals to communities, embracing technology, and prioritising prevention over treatment.
The goals are to incentivise economic growth within the healthcare sector, improve the standards of care and quality that can support a healthier population, make the NHS financially sustainable, and shut down rumours of privatising the health system.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The 10-year plan for health will marry the genius of our country’s leading scientific minds with the care and compassion of our health service to put NHS patients at the front of the queue for new cutting-edge treatments.”
The whole Health Plan is set to be published in the upcoming weeks, with only select details being available currently.
Featured image via 1000 Words / Shutterstock.
