Britain's NHS shifting its focus toward preventing illness

Senior managers running the United Kingdom's National Health Service say a new 10-year plan for England could save 500,000 lives by focusing on prevention instead of cure.

The plan, which was unveiled on Monday, says an additional 2.3 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) a year will be directed at mental health services, and the overall NHS annual budget will increase by around 3.5 percent a year, to 135 billion pounds.

There will be large funding increases for neighborhood doctors – so called GPs – and community care. And there will be more DNA testing for children with cancer, and new tests for adults with rare genetic disorders. But some hospital doctors have warned it is doomed to fail because of the lack of emphasis on hospital care.

Nick Scriven, president of the Society of Acute Medicine, told the BBC he was "staggered" by the blueprint unveiled by Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, and Prime Minister Theresa May.

May commissioned the plan in the summer,on the 70th birthday of the NHS. Professional bodies, charities, research organizations, and patient groups all had input. May said it was needed to ensure money is well spent and told reporters on Sunday it means "world class" treatment will be available.

But unions say it does little to address staffing shortages and other pressures.

Sara Gorton, head of the Unison union, said: "Without the staff, there is no NHS. Ministers must say more about how they plan to address the staffing shortages."

And Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust think tank, told the Guardian improvements in care may stall because the extra funding "is enough to move forwards, but with little room for maneuver".

Jon Ashworth, the opposition Labour Party's health critic, said: "The NHS needs a credible fully-funded plan for the future, not a wish list to help Theresa May get through the coming months."

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The whole purpose of the NHS has to shift to helping people stay healthy as much as helping them when they are ill, as part of a move to prevention rather than cure."

The plan includes initiatives to ensure patients waiting to be discharged from hospital have somewhere to go, and urges more online tools. There will also be more healthy living programs and extra cooperation between health bodies and local governments.

Sky News said NHS England believes new technology, including remote GP consultations,will prevent 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases, prompting Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, to say it is "a welcome and significant step in the fight against heart and circulatory diseases".