The NHS has become such a bleak topic of discussion in recent years that it is almost impossible to imagine it being fixed. Lord Darzi’s report paints a picture of an organisation grappling with several crises: in primary care, hospitals and the treatment of long-term illness. Its findings make for grim reading. A&E is in such a poor state that thousands of people are dying due to delays in treatment.
Rather than recommending an immediate injection of cash to hospitals and the frontline, the report outlines a series of priorities that should form part of a 10-year plan to fix the NHS. This includes shifting money away from hospitals into the community, improving technology and moving to a preventative healthcare model.
Streeting must avoid being caught in a doom spiral that forces him to prioritise dealing with the crisis of the present at the expense of future reform
It is refreshing to see Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting discussing a 10-year strategy following years of short-termism. Post pandemic, a succession of Tory health secretaries ducked long-term reform as it was seen as painful, expensive and too complex to yield electoral success. Policy was often devised in response to terrifying headlines about 24-hour waits in A&E, while industrial action was allowed to drag on for so long that reducing the elective waiting list became impossible.
The real challenge for Labour will arrive in December, when hospitals come under acute pressure. A particularly bad flu season, or a surge in Covid or Strep A, could see Mr Streeting facing questions about pensioners being treated in corridors or hospitals declaring emergency incidents to free up bed space. This could require swift intervention, as it did last year when former health secretary Steve Barclay was forced to spend £200 million to buy care home beds for elderly patients to relieve pressure on hospitals. Mr Streeting must avoid being caught in a doom spiral that forces him to prioritise dealing with the crisis of the present at the expense of future reform.
Sir Keir Starmer is aware that failure to fix the NHS will probably condemn his Government to opposition, just as the Conservatives’ slim hope of recovery were torpedoed when Liz Truss wrecked their reputation for economic competence. The public have always associated Labour with a strong NHS. If this bond is broken, voters will not forgive them.
