London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – PM Sir Keir Starmer pledged to construct an NHS that is “fit for the future” after a landmark report cautioned the health service is in “critical condition”.
The report by independent peer Lord Ara Darzi, conducted in nine weeks, found that the nation’s health had deteriorated over the past 15 years and that meaningful reform would be required to return the NHS to peak performance.
How does PM Keir Starmer plan to address the NHS’s critical condition?
The Prime Minister stated that the Conservatives had presided over a “lost decade” that had left the NHS “unable to be there for patients today”. “We need to get the health service back on its feet and build an NHS that is truly fit for the future,” he stated. “Our starting point couldn’t be further from that goal. Public satisfaction in the NHS has dropped from an all-time high when the last Labour Government was in office to an all-time low today. That is because the last Government failed the NHS.”
How does Health Secretary Wes Streeting view the NHS crisis and its solutions?
Responding to the report, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that the crisis in the NHS would require investment but that this would not occur at once. He stated: “We have got here because of a decade of underinvestment in the NHS, especially in technology. We are 15 years behind the private sector.”
Mr Streeting articulated that ministers would focus on capital investment, but admitted that he could not make up for a £37 billion underinvestment immediately. “It’s not going to be a big bang, and it’s necessary I say that up front for two reasons,” he said. “One is so the Chancellor doesn’t have a heart attack over her breakfast this morning with me documenting her spending review for her. But secondly, and very especially, I think people know that it’s taken more than a decade to break the NHS and it’s going to take time to get the NHS back on its feet and to make sure it’s fit for the future.”
Mr Streeting described BBC Breakfast that the NHS could “go bust” if action is not taken to reform it. “If we don’t grab both the immediate challenge in facade of us and deal with the crisis today, but also design the NHS for the challenges of the future in times of an aging society and illness and rising costs, rather than a government with an NHS, we’re going to have an NHS with a country connected to it if we’re not careful, and more probably an NHS that goes bust,” he stated.