The Prime Minister has outlined the urgent need for radical reform of the NHS following a report on the “crisis state” of the health service.
Sir Keir Starmer said the Government cannot afford to fix many of the problems by simply providing more funding. Many radical changes are needed.
Following Lord Darzi’s damning report that England’s NHS is “in deep trouble”, he set out plans to reduce waiting lists, improve national healthcare and shift the focus to community services.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the report, published this morning, highlights three key changes that the institution urgently needs to make to save.
He named these as:
Moving from hospital to community care;
Converting from analogue to digital power;
Moving from treating disease to preventing disease. Mr Street said work to address the challenges facing the NHS needed to start immediately, but a 10-year plan setting out the government’s approach to reform will not be published until next spring.
He also warned that the health service could “collapse” if the government does not “understand the challenge ahead, address the crisis today and prepare the NHS for the challenges of the future”.
He also told BBC Breakfast that this is “more about an ageing population, disease and rising costs than about a country with an NHS”.
He added: “If we’re not careful, we’ll have a country attached to the NHS and we’ll probably have an NHS that goes bankrupt.” “That’s not the future we want to see. So today we deal with the immediate crisis but at the same time we get the NHS back on its feet and prepare it for the future.”
The rapid review, completed in nine weeks, diagnoses the problems facing the NHS and highlights where they lie. The government’s agenda should be included in its 10-year health reform plan, it argues,
As well as declining hospital productivity and low staff morale, the NHS faces increasing demand for care as people live longer in poor health.
Speaking at an event in London this morning, the Chancellor said:
“We either have to raise taxes on working people to meet the ever-increasing costs of an ageing population, or we undertake reforms to secure their future.”
Sir Keir will promise to tackle three key areas of reform to ensure we deliver an NHS fit for the future.
He said: “This Government is working hard on a 10-year plan which will be very different to anything we’ve had before.”
“Rather than the traditional top-down approach, this plan will have the signature of NHS staff and patients around the world.” From analogue to digital NHS. The service of tomorrow, not just of today.
“Second, we need to move more care out of hospitals and into the community… and third, we need to be bolder about moving from disease to prevention.”
The report highlights the “horrific state of the NHS”
He also vowed to “turn around” the NHS in the wake of the damning report and transform it into one of the nation’s best-loved institutions.
Wes Street said the report showed the “appalling state” of England’s health service.
He said the findings would inform our 10-year plan to “radically reform” the NHS.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard acknowledged waiting times were “unacceptable” for many services but said teams were working hard to get services back on track.
Mr Street said: “We have produced an honest, informed and comprehensive report into the appalling state of our health system.
“Today’s findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS so that patients can once again get treatment on time.”
“The damage done to the NHS has been going on for more than a decade and it’s clear there’s still a long way to go.
“But even if the NHS is bankrupt, it’s not defeated – we will fix it and make it ready for you when you need it again. ” Dealing with ageing equipment and crumbling buildings, an increase in some long-term illnesses and the long-term impacts of the pandemic.
“As teams work hard to get back up and running, it’s clear waiting times are becoming longer. They’re unacceptable in many areas and we need to address the underlying issues outlined in Lord Darzi’s report so we can give patients the care we all want.”
“We are committed to working with the Government on a 10-year health plan to ensure the NHS recovers from COVID-19, strengthens its foundations and continues to reform to prepare it for future generations.” A range of concerns about different elements of the health service. They include:
What is Lord Dalzi’s report and what changes will it make?
Lord Dalzi, a widely respected surgeon general and former health secretary, argues in his report that the NHS can be improved.
He says: “We found nothing that challenges the principle of a health service that is tax-funded, available free of charge and based on need rather than ability to pay.”
Lord Darge said the country “cannot do without the NHS and it is urgent to turn the situation around”, adding that the health service is “in a state of crisis but the vital signs are strong”.
He has criticised policy decisions under the Conservative and Coalition governments, such as the impact of austerity and the 2012 restructuring of the NHS under Andrew Lansley.
In his report, Lord Darge said of the Health and Social Care Act: “2012 was a disaster of unprecedented proportions internationally. It proved to be devastating.”
He continued: “Over the past 15 years the NHS has been hit by three shocks: austerity and underinvestment, the chaos of top-down restructuring and then the pandemic. The pandemic struck at a time when we had no resilience whatsoever. Time was at its lowest.
“Two of these shocks are decisions taken at Westminster.”
Lord Darzi said that as part of his reform prescription the Government needed to “re-employ staff and give power back to patients” and “get even closer to patients”. Changing healthcare delivery and “sticking to where we live”.
Furthermore, hospital productivity needed to be boosted by re-employing staff, discharging patients who no longer need to be admitted and investing in buildings and equipment.
Sir Keir used his speech on Thursday to blame the Conservatives, and in particular former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, for the state of the NHS, describing it as “unacceptable”.
Mr Lansley was behind the controversial 2012 health reforms which the Prime Minister said in a speech today had led to an “internationally unprecedented catastrophe”.
He said: “People have a right to be angry.” It’s not just because the NHS has a very personal impact on us all – because some of these failings mean the difference between life and death.
“Consider waiting times in emergency departments – not only is this a cause for fear and anxiety, but it also leads to preventable deaths.
`Loved ones could have been saved. Doctors and nurses whose sole mission is to save them are being prevented from doing so. This is devastating.’
Turning to the numbers of unemployed people, Sir Keir added:
“Getting people healthy and back to work not only saves costs to the NHS, it supports economic growth and leads to increased tax revenues which fund public services.”