Last week, NHS England (NHSE) published its Medium term planning framework: delivering change together from 2026/27 to 2028/29. The document sets out the priority deliverables and reform opportunities for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS providers over the next three years.

PAGB welcomes the focus of the framework on digital transformation, self-care and neighbourhood health. In particular, we are pleased to see the framework’s expectation for providers and commissioners to prioritise the move to using AI-assisted triage that can ‘effectively guide patients to self-care… via the NHS App’ from April 2026. This reflects the ask in our recent report, Unlocking the digital front door: delivering digital self-care through NHS reform, which calls for NHSE to review and refine existing digital triage pathways to ensure they reflect the full potential of self-care and pharmacy. We stand ready to work closely with the Government and NHSE to deliver this ambition.

We also welcome the framework’s emphasis on accelerating the rollout of neighbourhood health, with NHSE committing to publishing a Model Neighbourhood Framework in November which will set out the scope and roles of neighbourhood health. It is clear that self-care and community pharmacy have a vital role to play in progressing the neighbourhood health agenda, and we continue to engage with national stakeholders to shape how this is delivered in practice.