In response to the Health Select Committee report on managing the care of people with long-term conditions, NHS Confederation chief executive Rob Webster said:

"This new report from the Health Select Committee adds further weight to the clear and growing consensus that if health and care services are to continue to meet people's needs, we must deliver care in new ways. Care must be built around individuals to help them maintain good health and be independent for as long as possible. This inevitably means more emphasis on community care. There is widespread agreement among health and care professionals, clinicians and service leaders that, where clinically appropriate, this is the right approach.

"The need to change the way we deliver healthcare is unarguable. Today's report is a strong endorsement of the 2015 Challenge Declaration which we published with partners in May, setting out a definitive picture of the challenges currently facing the health and care system. Meeting the rising demand for care, particularly from people with complex needs or long-term conditions, is the starting point for change. It's no exaggeration to say that radical transformation of care for people with ongoing needs is essential in the National Health Service.

"Transformation of the scale required cannot be done while NHS organisations are continually having to pare their finances to the bone. NHS leaders aren't pressing the government with an open-ended demand for more money for the health service. We know money is tight across the public sector. We are calling instead for certainty. Fixed Parliaments give the opportunity for longer term settlements. A five year settlement for the NHS - or even better, a 'decade deal' - would give the health service certainty about its funding and enable service leaders to plan the right care for local people in the right place at the right time.

"Alongside getting the finances right, it is imperative that we change what we do and how we do it. Hand in hand with investment for transformation needs to be a genuine commitment from politicians to support the changes which are essential for the NHS's future, and a similar commitment from the health service to be ready to change when needed."