By Jonathan Gardner | August 12, 2025
Last Updated on August 12, 2025
Jonathan Gardner, Chief Executive Officer at Bluebird Care, shares why he believes homecare should be placed at the heart of the future of the NHS.
The publication of Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future, sets out a welcome and ambitious vision for health – shifting delivery from hospitals to communities, replacing analogue systems with digital ones and focusing more on prevention than reaction.
Of course, those of us in social care already know that high-quality, community-based care is essential to the success and sustainability of our health system. Despite this, only passing mention was given to our sector, which seemingly must await Baroness Casey’s recommendations in 2028 before we can understand the scope of plans for reform. It is therefore vital that ambition and NHS reform is matched with investment in workforce, digital infrastructure and local commissioning models – and that homecare is at the heart of that progress.
Homecare is already delivering
Homecare professionals like our Bluebird Care teams are already putting the plan’s goals into practice – working closely with community health teams, embracing digital platforms and delivering proactive support that helps people avoid hospital admission altogether. Across the country, teams like ours already help to reduce pressure on hospitals, enabling timely discharge, supporting safe reablement at home and improving quality of life for millions of people.
While we wait for the results of the Casey Commission to set out longer-term reform, then, we must push for proper backing for these ways of working which already deliver the results outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan. Homecare providers have immensely valuable insights to share that can support the Government’s vision – not in 2028 but now. But first there must be a moment of reckoning about the wider system pressures. The recent ADASS Spring Survey shows that councils in England overspent their adult social care budgets by £774m last year, with less than 6% of spend attributed to prevention. That is not a sign of poor planning but of rising demand, growing complexity and massive historic under investment.
Clearly, a modern, preventative care system cannot be built on overstretched local budgets and poor commissioning practices. We will need to continue our advocacy efforts right across the homecare space in order to ensure that, in the face of rising demand, the homecare services which have the potential to deliver early intervention and continuity of care can do so.
Lessons from Scotland
The Scottish Government has recently announced an £85m investment in hospital-at-home services and community health has been presented as a step towards shifting care out of hospitals and into people’s homes. It is refreshing and important to see that being at home is treated as a priority for individual and system benefit. However, initial criticism of the plans points to the problem of channelling investment through NHS structures, rather than directly supporting the existing local social care services that are so essential to delivering consistent, integrated care at home.
It is a cautionary example for the 10 Year Health Plan . Even with the right vision, if funding bypasses homecare providers (who are already supporting hospital discharge, preventing re-admission and delivering daily care in the community) the impact will fall short. The lesson here is clear – delivering more care at home requires investment in the services that are already in the home. Not just new NHS pathways or rebranded pilot projects, but sustained funding for the community care infrastructure that makes early intervention and personalised support possible.
The power of partnership
The 10 Year Health Plan calls for neighbourhood health hubs, multi-disciplinary teams and shared digital records. These are all positive developments and ones Bluebird Care, like homecare providers across the country, are ready to support. But integration must be meaningful. Providers like us are more than just contractors – we are partners. We bring deep local knowledge, trusted relationships and the flexibility to deliver personalised care at scale. If we are serious about community care and prevention supported by digital innovation, then homecare must be involved in shaping care pathways – not just responding to them.
Moving from vision to delivery
We have long delivered the kind of responsive, compassionate and informed care that delivers in communities, keeps people out of hospital and leverages digital innovation. It is time for policymakers to recognise that homecare has the expertise and insights to play a central role in not just delivering joined-up care but shaping the future of the NHS. But we cannot do that in a vacuum or without the support, funding and recognition that is so long overdue. With proper support and meaningful co-production, homecare can be the route to transforming the 10 Year Health Plan vision into reality.
Jonathan Gardner is Chief Executive Officer at Bluebird Care.
To learn more about how adult social care fits in to the 10 Year Health Plan, listen to the latest episode of CMM’s OFF THE PAGE podcast.