Why the system needs a reset: Accessible Workforce Healthcare as the Missing Piece

The NHS 10-Year Plan outlines a powerful ambition: to evolve from a reactive sickness service into a proactive health system. Its focus on prevention, personalisation, and digital transformation is not only timely, it’s vital. At Lime, we welcome this vision wholeheartedly. It reflects a growing recognition that the health of our nation, and our economy, depends on long-term thinking.

But to truly realise this ambition, we must also acknowledge the challenges. Our current system, across both public and private sectors, was designed in a different era, for a different set of needs. It remains too reactive, too fragmented, and too unequal to meet the demands of today.

This isn’t a criticism. It’s an invitation. An invitation to reimagine the way we think about health, and to work together, constructively and collaboratively, toward a system that works better for everyone.

Recent headlines about NHS strike action serve as a reminder that the pressure on our healthcare workforce is not just operational, but human. Our clinicians, nurses and care teams are under extraordinary strain. Supporting them means not only investing in the frontline, but rethinking how and where care is delivered, including how we prevent ill health before it reaches crisis point.

A healthy workforce is a healthy nation.

Our workforce is the engine of our economy and the heart of our communities. And yet, those in work are often among the last to be able to access meaningful health support. Many are caught in a frustrating gap, facing long waits in the public system or finding private care out of reach.

If we are serious about prevention, we must bring healthcare closer to where people live and work. The workplace can and should be a trusted access point, for early support, inclusive care, and timely intervention. The NHS cannot and should not carry this responsibility alone.

Prevention is not a luxury. It’s the most sustainable strategy we have.

Over 70% of NHS resources are spent managing chronic conditions (Nuffield Trust). But what if we focused more on preventing them in the first place? Investing in prevention, primary care, early diagnosis, and mental health support doesn't just reduce future cost it improves the quality of life, protects productivity and strengthens resilience across society.

We have an opportunity to shift from a crisis response to early action. And that shift will benefit us all.

True equality begins with access.

Raising awareness of health issues is important, but it’s not enough. For many, awareness doesn’t translate into action because access to healthcare remains out of reach. Whether due to affordability, availability, or cultural fit, these barriers widen the gap and delay the care people need.

If we want to close the health gap, we must remove those barriers. That means designing services that are accessible, inclusive, and truly reflective of the diverse needs of our workforce.

Innovation matters. But values matter more. Whole of Workforce Healthcare is Essential.

Technology plays a powerful role in modern health, but innovation without intention won’t close the gap. At Lime, we believe in building solutions that are clinically grounded, ethically led, and focused on people.

This is not a call to compete with the NHS. It’s a call to contribute, to offer support where it needed most, through workforce healthcare, which is not only possible, but essential. And it starts with a mindset shift: from health as a perk for the few, to health as a right for all.

The NHS plan marks an important step forward. Now, we have the chance to build on that momentum, to amplify what’s working, to rethink what isn’t, and to reshape the future of health in this country.

Because there is a better way to be well. And together, we can make it happen.