What we are doing
The Future Hospital Programme (FHP) was established to implement the recommendations of the Future Hospital Commission. These recommendations were based on the very best of our hospital services, taking examples of existing innovative and patient-centred services to develop a comprehensive model of care.
The Future Hospital Programme (FHP) was established by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in response to the seminal Future Hospital Commission (FHC) report.
The FHP put this vision into practice with clinical partners across England and Wales in order to evaluate the real-world impact of the FHC’s recommendations. At its heart was the need to change and improve services for patients. The FHP demonstrated the RCP’s commitment to being part of the wider solution to the challenges being faced by the NHS.
What was different about the FHP?
The FHP was a new venture for the RCP. It represented a unique, comprehensive programme of activity which included: eight Future Hospital development sites (selected, supported local healthcare project teams); a pilot of a new role of chief registrar (a senior clinical leadership role for experienced trainee doctors); and other workstreams relating to person-centred care, young adults and adolescents and integrated care. The FHP:
- championed patient experience and patient-centred care throughout, by facilitating leadership by patients, carers and the public and their involvement in service redesign and delivery from the outset
- embedded in clinical practice the FHC ‘blueprint’ and its 11 principles of patient care
- applied a standardised approach to measuring the impact of new ways of working through quality improvement methodology
- supported development sites to improve front-line services within existing local resources with no additional transformational funding
- advocated a front-line clinician-led approach to improvement by selecting eight sites with strong, multiprofessional team working and patient engagement, from inception through to implementation
- led on the development of future clinical leaders through a bespoke leadership, management and improvement programme as part of the chief registrar project
- used the expertise, resource and influence of a medical royal college to support improved patient care
- commissioned independent evaluation by academic organisations.
