A government-commissioned report has delivered a scathing assessment of NHS England, warning that without significant reform, the service could face collapse under growing pressure.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer responded to the report by saying the NHS must “reform or die,” echoing public anger over deteriorating healthcare standards.
Starmer emphasized that the current state of the health service is unacceptable, with people having “every right to be angry” as delays in emergency care and long waiting times continue to result in unnecessary loss of life.
READ MORE: 14-year-old girl arrested after fatal house fire in Leicester
The report was authored by Lord Darzi, a respected NHS surgeon and former health minister, following a nine-week review commissioned shortly after Labour’s recent election victory.
Although tasked with identifying the NHS’s key failings, Darzi’s mandate did not include offering solutions.
His findings present a bleak picture of a health system struggling with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and long-standing issues exacerbated by an aging population, rising demand for services, and financial constraints.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned that the NHS could “go bust” if it fails to adapt to the challenges posed by an older society, a growing number of chronically ill patients, and ballooning healthcare costs.
He outlined plans to prioritize primary care, social services, and community health over hospitals, aiming to relieve pressure on the NHS by shifting more care out of hospitals.
Streeting also promised to direct new funds into these areas, ensuring that general practitioners (GPs) and local services become the primary recipients of NHS resources, rather than hospitals.
However, the Conservatives have criticized the government for failing to follow through on earlier promises, particularly regarding social care reforms and hospital infrastructure projects.
They called on Labour to turn “rhetoric into action,” pointing out that plans to build new hospitals and reform social care had been scrapped.
Lord Darzi’s report reveals an NHS in “critical condition” and in “serious trouble.” He highlighted that the NHS has been struggling to hit key targets for cancer care, Accident & Emergency (A&E) treatment, and hospital operations, leading to lower survival rates for cancer and heart disease. This has also contributed to declining patient satisfaction levels.
The report emphasizes that austerity measures from the 2010s have left the NHS chronically underfunded, particularly in areas like hospital buildings and medical technology.
Many hospitals are operating in outdated facilities, with the NHS having far fewer modern scanners than other developed nations and falling behind in adopting digital technologies.
This has led to reduced productivity within hospitals, where staff increases have not been matched by improvements in patient care.
Lord Darzi was also critical of the coalition government’s 2012 NHS reforms, describing them as “disastrous.” He argued that these changes disrupted management structures and distracted the service from improving care, further weakening the NHS as it entered the pandemic.
The report highlights that the pandemic exacerbated these issues, leading to a sharp rise in hospital treatment cancellations and a “ballooning” waiting list, which now stands at 7.6 million people.
The report also pointed to the broader deterioration of the nation’s health, which is placing additional strain on the NHS.
The rise in long-term illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and respiratory conditions is overwhelming the health system, while mental health issues among young people are at unprecedented levels.
The report’s findings are stark: A&E departments are in an “awful state,” with long waits contributing to an estimated 14,000 additional deaths annually.
Cancer mortality rates in the UK are higher than in many other countries, and even though NHS staff numbers have risen since the pandemic, the number of patients being treated has not increased, as hospitals are unable to process patients as efficiently as before.
The lack of investment in the NHS’s infrastructure is also deeply concerning. The report describes hospitals with crumbling buildings, some mental health patients being treated in vermin-infested Victorian-era cells, and certain parts of the NHS still operating out of dilapidated portacabins.
Lord Darzi expressed shock at the state of both the NHS and the nation’s health, despite his more than 30 years of experience in the system.
He also warned about the deteriorating state of social care, which he said was underfunded and undervalued, creating a widening gap between people’s needs and the availability of publicly funded care.
This shortfall is placing an increasing burden on families and the NHS, as more people turn to hospitals for care that could be provided in the community.
Sir Keir Starmer called the 2010s a “lost decade” for the NHS, stating that the service was left ill-prepared to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.
He warned that the NHS faces a pivotal moment, and that the country must choose between raising taxes or reforming the system to secure its future. “We know working people can’t afford to pay more,” he said, “so it is reform or die.”
Starmer also acknowledged that long A&E waiting times are causing preventable deaths, describing the situation as devastating for families and the doctors and nurses trying to save lives under immense pressure.
Labour has pledged to launch a new 10-year plan for the NHS, which Starmer described as “the biggest reimagining of the NHS” since its creation.
The plan will focus on three key areas of reform: moving more care into local communities, digitizing the health service, and prioritizing preventative care over reactive treatments.
Shadow Health Secretary Victoria Atkins criticized the current government for failing to present meaningful reform plans.
She argued that despite increasing the NHS budget during the last Parliament, the Conservatives have failed to deliver on key promises, including hospital construction and social care reforms.
Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation, warned that waiting lists will likely worsen over the coming winter.
He said that even with Labour’s reform plans, it would take at least a full parliamentary term to bring waiting times under control.
The report has sparked widespread concern, with health experts like Thea Stein of the Nuffield Trust describing its findings as “deeply troubling.”
William Pett from Healthwatch England, a patient advocacy group, warned that the ongoing problems are not being experienced equally, with disadvantaged communities bearing the brunt of the NHS’s failings.
As the NHS grapples with these challenges, the question remains whether Labour’s proposed reforms will be enough to revive the health service and restore public trust.
READ MORE: Carol Vorderman calls on Keir Starmer to apologize over pensioner fuel payment cuts
