NHS in 'critical condition' major report warns as Starmer promises complete 'reimagining'

The NHS was revealed to have 'serious trouble' with spiraling wait times for mental health care and cancer treatments, ITV News' Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry explains

A major review of the health service has found the NHS is in a "critical condition" and the health of the nation has "deteriorated" over the last 15 years.

The government-commissioned investigation by Lord Darzi says it's "shocking" that children face long waits for mental health treatment and the UK is lagging behind other countries in its treatment of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

In response, the prime minister has promised the "biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth".

Lord Darzi, an NHS surgeon and former Labour health minister, who carried out the rapid review said: "Although I have worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, I have been shocked by what I have found during this investigation - not just in the health service but in the state of the nation’s health."

Some key findings from the report:

  • The health of the nation has deteriorated over the past 15 years, with a "surge" in people with multiple long-term conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

  • Waiting lists have "ballooned", including for mental health services with 109,000 children waiting more than a year for help.

  • A&E is in an awful state with long waits likely to be causing an additional 14,000 more deaths a year.

  • The NHS cancelled or postponed more routine care during the pandemic than any comparable country.

  • Cancer care still lags behind other countries and cancer death rates are higher than in other countries.

  • Care for cardiovascular conditions is going in the wrong direction.

  • Too great a share of the NHS budget is being spent in hospitals and too little in the community.

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Speaking at an event in London on Thursday, the prime minister said: "The NHS is at a fork in the road, and we have a choice about how it should meet these rising demands.

"Raise taxes on working people to meet the ever-higher costs of an ageing population - or reform to secure its future.

"We know working people can't afford to pay more, so it's reform or die."

Sir Keir said the government is working on a 10-year plan framed around three big shifts.

Sir Keir Starmer said the government will reform the NHS to 'secure its future'

"First, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. Second, we've got to shift more care from hospitals to communities. And third, we've got to be much bolder in moving from sickness to prevention," the prime minister said.

Lord Darzi argues in his report that the NHS can be fixed.

He says the country "cannot afford not to have the NHS, so it is imperative that we turn the situation around", adding that the health service "is in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong".

Lord Darzi, an NHS surgeon and former Labour health minister, wrote the report. Credit: PA

He criticises political decision-making under the Conservatives and the coalition government, including the impact of austerity and the reorganisation of the NHS under Andrew Lansley in 2012.

"In the last 15 years, the NHS was hit by three shocks - austerity and starvation of investment, confusion caused by top-down reorganisation, and then the pandemic which came with resilience at an all-time low.

"Two out of three of those shocks were choices made in Westminster."

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Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund said: "This is an authoritative and sobering articulation of what patients have been telling us for some time - services are stretched to breaking point and people are losing faith that support will be there when they need it.

"The report is more than a gloomy assessment of how long it will take to recover services, it is a mandate for government to take bold, decisive action."

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard acknowledged that waiting times across many services are “unacceptable” but said teams were working hard to get services back on track.

Ms Pritchard said that NHS staff are facing "unprecedented challenges", adding: "Our staff are treating record numbers of patients every day despite ageing equipment and crumbling buildings, a surge in multiple long-term illnesses, and managing the long-lasting effects of the pandemic.

"While teams are working hard to get services back on track, it is clear waiting times across many services are unacceptable and we need to address the underlying issues outlined in Lord Darzi’s report so we can deliver the care we all want for patients.

"We are fully committed to working with government to create a 10-year plan for healthcare to ensure the NHS recovers from Covid, strengthens its foundations and continues to reform so it is fit for future generations."

The Tory shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said: "We will review this report carefully but it appears that Labour have missed an opportunity to put together meaningful plans for reform.

"We Conservatives recognise that investment has to be married with reform.

"Labour has stopped new hospitals from being built, scrapped our social care reforms and taken money from pensioners to fund unsustainable pay rises with no gains in productivity."

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