Change NHS: Help build a health service fit for the future

With confidence in the NHS at a low and its future under intense scrutiny, we set out to do something bold: spark the biggest ever national conversation about how to save it and make sure the people shaping its future weren’t just from Whitehall, but from every corner of the country.

With £50,000, we designed a four-part campaign: listen, launch big with honest messaging, run six months of conversations and show how people’s input shaped the plan. Every element was grounded in a simple, powerful truth - everyone can contribute to the NHS’s future.

We reached beyond the usual voices, into ethnic minority audiences, children and young people and underrepresented groups with the worst health outcomes, through community partners, trusted influencers, local media and 50+ events. The campaign drove people to the Change NHS website, where anyone 16+ could share ideas to shape a new 10-Year Plan. We made it personal. Inviting NHS staff to share on the ground insights with Ministers, and with human-centred stories that helped rebuild trust.

Over 270,000 contributions were received, including 17,600 from seldom-heard communities and more than 3,000 NHS workers. We secured 1,000+ media hits, reached millions through social and regional media, and created a movement that changed not just a plan, but how we make policy. When the Plan is published, it will reflect not just the views of Westminster but the lived experiences of staff and patients and will be a huge step in our journey to rebuilding faith in the NHS.