FSEM Response to the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan
The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK (FSEM) welcomes the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan and its strong emphasis on prevention, community-based care, and patient-centred approaches. We are encouraged by the recognition that the NHS must evolve to meet the growing burden of long-term conditions and the increasing demand on services.
The Role of Physical Activity in Health
We are particularly pleased to see a shift toward preventative healthcare. However, we believe the plan would be significantly strengthened by explicitly recognising the central role of physical activity (PA) in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Physical activity is a powerful, evidence-based intervention that can reduce the burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health issues, and more.
FSEM has long championed the integration of PA into routine healthcare. Initiatives such as Moving Medicine and the Physical Activity Clinical Champions (PACC) programme, developed in partnership with Public Health England and Sport England, provide clinicians with practical tools to promote PA in clinical settings. These resources are essential to delivering the ambitions of the 10-Year Plan and should be embedded in workforce training and service delivery.
Delivering the Physical Activity Agenda
While workforce planning is vital, the focus must also be on delivering the physical activity agenda across all levels of care. This includes ensuring that PA initiatives are inclusive, evidence-based, and tailored to the needs of individuals with long-term conditions. We note that the current leadership of the PA initiative includes voices from the fitness industry. While this is welcome, it is essential that such initiatives are informed by healthcare professionals with clinical expertise, to ensure safety, accessibility, and effectiveness for all patient groups.
The Role of SEM Consultants
Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) Consultants are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Their multidisciplinary training spans MSK medicine, rehabilitation, public health, and the use of physical activity as a clinical tool. SEM consultants work across primary, secondary, and community care, and are already delivering innovative, cost-effective services that reduce pressure on the NHS.
Our Workforce Planning document outlines the steps needed to scale this impact, including:
- Increasing the number of SEM consultants and training posts
- Embedding SEM expertise in commissioning MSK and PA services
- Expanding SEM-led services in secondary care and community settings
We also highlight successful case studies where SEM-led models have improved outcomes and reduced costs.
Technology and Training
We welcome the plan’s support for health technology and wearables, which can empower patients and support self-management. However, their success depends on adequate training and staffing to interpret data, guide behaviour change, and integrate these tools into care pathways. SEM professionals are well-placed to lead in this area, given their expertise in performance monitoring and behaviour change.
A Call for Tangible Action on Prevention
While the 10-Year Health Plan rightly identifies prevention as one of its three core shifts, alongside digitalisation and community care. The Faculty is concerned that the vision for embedding prevention lacks specificity and measurable commitments. The plan leans heavily on high-level ambitions without clearly articulating how these will be operationalised, while there is a risk that prevention becomes a rhetorical goal rather than a deliverable outcome.
Prevention must be treated as an investment, not a cost.
The plan also does not commit to significant reallocation of resources or set out clear metrics for success. For example, despite the known return on investment for public health interventions such as physical activity and vaccination, these areas remain underfunded and underutilised.
There also appears to be an overreliance on digital tools and community-based care models to deliver prevention, without sufficient detail on how these will be integrated with clinical expertise or supported by workforce development. Technology and community care are enablers, but they are not substitutes for a structured, evidence-based prevention strategy.
FSEM urges the Government to:
Ensure digital tools and wearables are clinically integrated, with appropriate training and staffing to support their use.
Define clear, measurable targets for prevention, including reductions in physical inactivity, MSK-related work absence, and long-term condition prevalence.
Invest in clinical leadership for prevention, including SEM consultants who are trained to deliver and evaluate PA-based interventions.
Embed prevention into care pathways across primary, secondary, and community care, supported by tools like Moving Medicine.
Collaboration and Leadership
FSEM is committed to working with the Government and NHS bodies to upskill the workforce and deliver the physical activity agenda. We are ready to take a leading role in shaping and implementing this change, ensuring that it is clinically sound, inclusive, and sustainable.
We also support the call from the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) for a national MSK strategy, and we echo their emphasis on prevention, community care, and patient empowerment.