The appalling state of the NHS - and the nations health - laid bare in critical condition report on soaring waiting times, crumbling buildings and a record high number signed off as long-term sick
The appalling state of Britains NHS has been exposed in a damning report revealing its critical condition.
The appalling state of Britains NHS has been exposed in a damning report revealing its critical condition.
The review by pioneering surgeon Lord Darzi reveals spiralling waiting times, crumbling buildings and a record high number of people signed off as long-term sick.
The study argues the NHS is facing rising demand for care as people live longer in ill health, coupled with low productivity in hospitals and poor staff morale.
It also claimed that A&E is in an awful state and cancer care lagged behind other countries, while about one million people were waiting for mental health services.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said the rapid review, completed in nine weeks, highlighted the appalling state of the health service in England and stressed the findings would inform a 10-year-plan to radically reform the NHS.
Sir Keir Starmer (left) and Wes Streeting (right) will set out plans for tackling the issues in the NHS after a damning report from Lord Darzi
The Prime Minister will pledge to cut waiting times and improve access in a bid to tackle the nations ill health and get sick people back to work
There has also been a surge in multiple long-term conditions, including a rise in poor mental health among children and young people
Mr Streeting said: I asked Lord Darzi to tell hard truths about the state of the NHS. He has produced an honest, expert, comprehensive report on the appalling state our health service is in.
Todays findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and get patients treated on time again.
The damage done to the NHS has been more than a decade in the making. We clearly have a long road ahead. But while the NHS is broken, its not beaten. We will turn the NHS around so it is there for you when you need it, once again.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also acknowledged that waiting times across many services are unacceptable but said teams were working hard to get services back on track. The overall NHS waiting list currently stands at 7.6 million.
She added: 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 Darzis 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 report details a number of concerns about various elements of the health service, writing that care for heart problems have gone in the wrong direction.
The British Heart Foundation said that the review shows that every aspect of cardiovascular care has been damaged - from prevention and diagnosis, through to treatment and aftercare while the Stroke Association said that without action the impact of stroke will continue to mount.
There has also been a surge in multiple long-term conditions, including a rise in poor mental health among children and young people. It also found fewer children get their vaccines and fewer adults now participate in things such as breast cancer screening.
Wes Streeting with Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, during a visit to the Abbey Medical Centre in Abbey Wood on July 8
In a politically-charged attack, Lord Darzi criticises 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 (file)
By April 2024, about one million people were waiting for mental health services, the report said. Mental health charity Mind labelled the review a dark day for mental health and must act as a turning point.
Macmillan Cancer Support said that cancer care is broken after the report found there had been no progress whatsoever in diagnosing cancer at stage I and II between 2013 and 2021.
At the start of 2024, the report found 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with most of the rise since the pandemic down to mental health conditions.
Speaking at an event in London on Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to warn the NHS must reform or die while pledging to work on three fundamental areas of reform to make the NHS fit for the future.
He will say this could amount to the biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth, adding: This Government is working at pace to build a 10-year plan. Something so different from anything that has come before.
Instead of the top-down approach of the past, this plan is going to have the fingerprints of NHS staff and patients all over it.
And as we build it together, I want to frame this plan around three big shifts - first, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. A tomorrow service, not just a today service.
Second, weve got to shift more care from hospitals to communities... And third, weve got to be much bolder in moving from sickness to prevention.
Lord Darzi, a widely respected surgeon and former health minister, argues in his report that the NHS can be fixed.
He says: Nothing that I have found draws into question the principles of a health service that is taxpayer-funded, free at the point of use, and based on need not ability to pay.
Lord Darzi 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.
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 his report, Lord Darzi says the Health and Social Care Act of 2012 was a calamity without international precedent. It proved disastrous.
He continues: 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.
- The health of the nation has deteriorated, with more years spent in ill-health. Factors affecting health, such as poor quality housing, low income and insecure employment, have moved in the wrong direction over the past 15 years.
- There has been a surge in multiple long-term conditions, including a rise in poor mental health among children and young people. Fewer children get their vaccines and fewer adults now participate in things such as breast cancer screening.
- Waiting times targets are being missed across the board, including for surgery, cancer care, A&E and mental health services. The overall NHS waiting list stands at 7.6 million.
- People are struggling to see their GP. The number of fully qualified GPs relative to the population is falling, waiting times are rising and patient satisfaction is at a record low.
- Cancer care still lags behind other countries and cancer death rates are higher than in other countries.
- Progress in cutting death rates from heart disease has stalled while rapid access to treatment has deteriorated.
- At the start of 2024, 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with most of the rise since the pandemic down to mental health conditions.
- Raids on capital budgets have left the NHS with crumbling buildings and too many outdated scanners, and parts of the NHS are yet to enter the digital era.
- The NHSs resilience was already at a low ebb when it entered the pandemic, owing to a decade of austerity, high bed occupancy rates and fewer doctors, nurses, beds and capital assets than most other high-income health systems.
- Regulatory-type organisations now employ some 7,000 staff, or 35 per NHS provider trust, having doubled in size over the past 20 years.
