NHS Faces Critical Crossroads: Reform or Die, Warns Prime Minister

[Social Media]

 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to deliver a stark warning that the NHS must "reform or die" as he outlines a new 10-year plan aimed at revitalizing the health service. His comments come as the government publishes an independent report detailing the NHS’s dire state, describing it as being in "critical condition." The investigation, commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and conducted by Lord Darzi, a renowned peer and surgeon, paints a bleak picture of the NHS, citing record waiting lists, excessive hospital spending, and a significant decline in public health over the last 15 years.

 

Despite the grim assessment, Lord Darzi remains optimistic, stating that the NHS's vital signs "remain strong," thanks to the dedication of staff who possess a "shared passion and determination to make the NHS better for our patients." During his speech, the prime minister is expected to highlight these findings and attribute much of the NHS’s current struggles to policies enacted by the Conservative Party, including the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which the report condemns as a "calamity" with disastrous consequences. Additionally, Sir Keir will argue that a decade of underinvestment has left the health service vulnerable.

 

The Labour leader plans to introduce his vision for the future of the NHS, which promises substantial input from both NHS staff and patients. He will emphasize that the pandemic exposed the service’s fragility, noting: "Our NHS went into the pandemic in a much more fragile state. We had higher bed occupancy rates, fewer doctors, fewer nurses and fewer beds than most other high-income health systems in the world." 

 

Sir Keir will lay blame on past Conservative-led reforms, criticizing them as a "scorched earth approach to health reform" that continues to affect the NHS today. He will describe the 2010s as a "lost decade" for the service, leaving it ill-prepared for current challenges and future opportunities. Acknowledging the urgent need for change, he will state that the government has a "profound responsibility" to address these systemic issues for both health and economic reasons.

 

To meet these challenges, the prime minister will outline three "big shifts" in the government’s approach: implementing more technology to create a "digital NHS," moving care from hospitals into community settings, and shifting focus from treatment to prevention. However, Sir Keir will caution that what he calls "the biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth" will be neither quick nor easy. He will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions," arguing that the NHS is at a critical juncture. "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 aging population, or reform to secure its future. We know working people can't afford to pay more, so it's reform or die."

 

Shadow Health Secretary Victoria Atkins responded to the report, stating that the Conservatives will "review this report carefully" but criticized Labour for missing the opportunity to propose substantive reform measures. She emphasized that while investment is necessary, it must go hand-in-hand with meaningful changes. "We Conservatives recognize that investment has to be married with reform. This is why we brought forward long-term plans for productivity, tech, 'Pharmacy First,' virtual wards, attracting pharmaceutical research, and training and retaining staff. We did this whilst boosting investment in the NHS in real terms every single year."

 

Atkins also attacked the Labour government’s track record, arguing, "The Labour government will be judged on its actions. It 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. They need to move from rhetoric to action." As the NHS faces an uncertain future, the government’s approach to reform could determine whether the service can be saved or if it will continue its downward spiral.

 

Credit: Sky News 2024-09-13

 

 

 

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[thaibeachlovers]

54 minutes ago, Social Media said:

"Our NHS went into the pandemic in a much more fragile state. We had higher bed occupancy rates, fewer doctors, fewer nurses and fewer beds than most other high-income health systems in the world." 

From my experience blame the bully culture for the nurse shortage. It was dire during my 10 years in the NHS. Couple that with the requirement for uni degree, poor pay, heavy workload, and lack of reward and it's inevitable that few want to be nurses now.

 

Who are the bullies- nurse managers are.

 

Would I recommend nursing to any young person choosing a future- not a chance.

[James105]

5 hours ago, Social Media 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 aging population, or reform to secure its future. We know working people can't afford to pay more, so it's reform or die."

 

So no extra funding then, which is causing ever more voter regret and meltdowns from the 1 in 5 who voted for Labour.   So in just a few short months he has lost the working class, the pensioners, the middle class who send their kids to private schools and now the left who worship on the alter of the NHS and demand ever more taxpayer sacrifices.   

 

For what it is worth this is the first sensible thing he has said.   There are tens of thousands of managers, middle managers, paper shufflers, regulators, diversity officers etc who work in the NHS and if all of them disappeared overnight nobody would notice and the NHS would (probably) have an extra £50bn to play with.   I believe that they still to this day use fax machines which just highlights the level of incompetence of these people on much higher salaries than the PM who are in charge of actually running the NHS.     

[andyman57]

Let's make more cutbacks so the illegal immigrants can have bigger t.v.s in there hotel room 

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, James105 said:

just a few short months he has lost the working class, the pensioners, the middle class who send their kids to private schools and now the left who worship on the alter of the NHS and demand ever more taxpayer sacrifices

He's doing well with the immigrant vote though. It will be the only one that matters by next election.

[James105]

8 minutes ago, mokwit said:

He's doing well with the immigrant vote though. It will be the only one that matters by next election.

 

He is also doing well with the criminals.  All those that were released early will be lifelong Labour voters so I would expect to see legislation introduced that will allow serving prisoners to vote at some point in the next 5 years as he won't want to lose their vote when they are put back inside after they next get caught committing crimes.   

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, James105 said:

 

So no extra funding then, which is causing ever more voter regret and meltdowns from the 1 in 5 who voted for Labour.   So in just a few short months he has lost the working class, the pensioners, the middle class who send their kids to private schools and now the left who worship on the alter of the NHS and demand ever more taxpayer sacrifices.   

 

For what it is worth this is the first sensible thing he has said.   There are tens of thousands of managers, middle managers, paper shufflers, regulators, diversity officers etc who work in the NHS and if all of them disappeared overnight nobody would notice and the NHS would (probably) have an extra £50bn to play with.   I believe that they still to this day use fax machines which just highlights the level of incompetence of these people on much higher salaries than the PM who are in charge of actually running the NHS.     

The report was published 17 hrs ago.

 

It might be reasonable to expect the adoption policies to answer the reports findings to take more 17 hrs.

 

It might also be reasonable to assume the response you claim from

’1 in 5’ or indeed anyone else for that matter has not yet materialized.

 

I do however stress both these are reliant upon the concept of reasonableness and not a partisan knee jerk reaction.

 

 

[JonnyF]

8 hours ago, Social Media said:

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to deliver a stark warning that the NHS must "reform or die" as he outlines a new 10-year plan aimed at revitalizing the health service.

 

This sounds ominously like the precursor to some really bad policy announcement.

 

My guess?

 

No longer free for pensioners who don't qualify for pension credit?

No longer free for anyone earning over 12,000 PA?

"Positive" discrimination for access to hospital beds? 

No treatment for smokers/drinkers?

No treatment for those with distasteful views (as defined by Starmer)?

New "Care Tax" to be applied on top on National Insurance payments for medium/high earners?

 

The possibilities are endless. I can hardly wait. 

 

[Scouse123]

The point being you can't put yourself forward as the party to sort the UK out and get it back on track, then renege on all election promises saying the situation is worse than what you believed it to be, and therefore cutbacks are inevitable, in areas you promised that there wouldn't be.

 

He, in a very short space of time, is going down as the worst and most unpopular prime minister, Labour has ever put forward.

 

Blaming the Tories for everything will have a limited shelf life.

[JonnyF]

10 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

The point being you can't put yourself forward as the party to sort the UK out and get it back on track, then renege on all election promises saying the situation is worse than what you believed it to be, and therefore cutbacks are inevitable, in areas you promised that there wouldn't be.

 

Especially when you pluck a 'black hole' figure from thin air to justify these cruel/dangerous policies, and then when asked for details of the 'black hole', refuse.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/7f686444-7036-4efc-82c5-971b0f3929fa

 

 

They are quickly appearing unfit to govern. 

[James105]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

 

Especially when you pluck a 'black hole' figure from thin air to justify these cruel/dangerous policies, and then when asked for details of the 'black hole', refuse.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/7f686444-7036-4efc-82c5-971b0f3929fa

 

 

They are quickly appearing unfit to govern. 

 

Oops.   No wonder they are nervous about Twitter as it contains their posting history.  I wonder when she will start to hold herself to her own standards?   

 

[Scouse123]

To me, Keir Starmer and his chosen group are simply out of their depth.

[herfiehandbag]

12 hours ago, Social Media said:

His comments come as the government publishes an independent report detailing the NHS’s dire state, describing it as being in "critical condition." The investigation, commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and conducted by Lord Darzi, a renowned peer and surgeon,

Independent? Commissioned by the Health Secretary and conducted by a Labour Peer?

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

No treatment for those with distasteful views (as defined by Starmer

That would have to be managed with  umh, considerably more tact and finesse than the imposition of judicial sanctions on those with "distasteful" views 

 

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

No treatment for smokers/drinkers?

Now that is in my opinion very likely, perhaps not totally denied but certainly in a "second tier"!

 

Possibly issue captive bolt guns to paramedics called to people taken ill whilst smoking in pub beer gardens? Maybe initially going a tad far but carefully spun...

[johng]

They have been trying for years to destroy the NHS  with the backdoor privatisation of it  when you see public/private initative

be sure as night becomes day that the  private bit will become dominant  and thus everyone will be paying for treatment  despite the fact every worker pays National Insurance  whether they want to or not  compulsory tax to fund the NHS...still loads of money to fund wars in far off countries.

[RayC]

"... the prime minister will outline three "big shifts" in the government’s approach: (1) implementing more technology to create a "digital NHS," (2) moving care from hospitals into community settings (3) and shifting focus from treatment to prevention. However, Sir Keir will caution that what he calls "the biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth" will be neither quick nor easy. He will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions"

 

Why cannot some of these problems be solved quickly and (relatively? easily? If I recall correctly, the updating of the NHS IT systems has been ongoing since Blair was in government! IT projects vary in complexity - and without knowing too many details - imo it really shouldn't take 20+ years to implement a system that is 'fit for purpose'. (2) Moving care into the community: Again, why is this so difficult to achieve? I am, of course, over-simplifying matters but isn't this effectively a case of moving resources from one place to another? (3) Shifting the focus from treatment to prevention: This is becoming repetitive. Is it really that difficult to achieve some quick and cheap wins? The NHS currently offers a routine - imo superficial - check up every five years. Why not make this yearly and extend its' scope to include basic blood tests? 

 

I lived in Brussels until a few years ago. Unless the Belgium system has deteriorated out of all recognition since then, based on my experience there is no comparison in the quality of service offered. Both countries spend +/-11% of their GDP on health provision, so throwing (even more) money at the NHS isn't necessarily the answer.

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, RayC said:

"... the prime minister will outline three "big shifts" in the government’s approach: (1) implementing more technology to create a "digital NHS," (2) moving care from hospitals into community settings (3) and shifting focus from treatment to prevention. However, Sir Keir will caution that what he calls "the biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth" will be neither quick nor easy. He will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions"

 

Why cannot some of these problems be solved quickly and (relatively? easily? If I recall correctly, the updating of the NHS IT systems has been ongoing since Blair was in government! IT projects vary in complexity - and without knowing too many details - imo it really shouldn't take 20+ years to implement a system that is 'fit for purpose'. (2) Moving care into the community: Again, why is this so difficult to achieve? I am, of course, over-simplifying matters but isn't this effectively a case of moving resources from one place to another? (3) Shifting the focus from treatment to prevention: This is becoming repetitive. Is it really that difficult to achieve some quick and cheap wins? The NHS currently offers a routine - imo superficial - check up every five years. Why not make this yearly and extend its' scope to include basic blood tests? 

 

I lived in Brussels until a few years ago. Unless the Belgium system has deteriorated out of all recognition since then, based on my experience there is no comparison in the quality of service offered. Both countries spend +/-11% of their GDP on health provision, so throwing (even more) money at the NHS isn't necessarily the answer.

“He [PM Starmer] will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions"”

 

I expect you might get some answers to your questions once the policies in response to this one day old report have been established and published.

 

The Government have already made statements on policy objectives to curb the adverting of ‘junk foods’, the sale of ‘energy drinks’ and to align laws governing the sale of nicotine vapes with those of tobacco. Junk food, high glycemic index foods and tobacco being significant causes of ill health across the nation.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/12/keir-starmer-labour-radical-public-health-drive-junk-food-ads-energy-drinks-nhs

[youreavinalaff]

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

“He [PM Starmer] will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions"”

 

I expect you might get some answers to your questions once the policies in response to this one day old report have been established and published.

 

The Government have already made statements on policy objectives to curb the adverting of ‘junk foods’, the sale of ‘energy drinks’ and to align laws governing the sale of nicotine vapes with those of tobacco. Junk food, high glycemic index foods and tobacco being significant causes of ill health across the nation.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/12/keir-starmer-labour-radical-public-health-drive-junk-food-ads-energy-drinks-nhs

The junk food advertising ban is supposed to reduce child obesity.

 

Two instant flaws there. Kids don't tend to watch TV anymore, so likely dont see the advertisements anyway, and child obesity is down to the parents. It's them that buy the junk food after all.

[Chomper Higgot]

16 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

The junk food advertising ban is supposed to reduce child obesity.

 

Two instant flaws there. Kids don't tend to watch TV anymore, so likely dont see the advertisements anyway, and child obesity is down to the parents. It's them that buy the junk food after all.

 

And parents buy junk food as a direct result of marketing of junk food.

 

 

[RayC]

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

“He [PM Starmer] will urge for "major surgery, not sticking plaster solutions"”

 

I expect you might get some answers to your questions once the policies in response to this one day old report have been established and published.

 

The Government have already made statements on policy objectives to curb the adverting of ‘junk foods’, the sale of ‘energy drinks’ and to align laws governing the sale of nicotine vapes with those of tobacco. Junk food, high glycemic index foods and tobacco being significant causes of ill health across the nation.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/12/keir-starmer-labour-radical-public-health-drive-junk-food-ads-energy-drinks-nhs

 

It is, of course, ridiculous to expect Labour to affect meaningful change within two months of taking office, and it is laughable that some of those now rushing to criticise the government are the very same individuals who urge patience when it comes to reaping the promised rewards of Brexit.

 

However, that is not say that critics of this government do not make some valid points. Personally, I find the continual 'things are worse than we thought' and 'its going to be very difficult' rhetoric, tedious and disingenuous. It does smell of getting your excuses in first if things don't go to plan. In opposition Labour often, quite rightly, accused the Tory government of refusing to accept responsibility and accountability when the latter cited COVID or Ukraine as mitigating factors. By the same token, Labour should not use the legacy which it inherited from the Tories as an excuse to shun accountability and responsibility. It is what it is. Get on with it.

 

Wrt the NHS specifically: My understanding is that a programme of work is being developed, and that the details will be published in the spring. Therefore imo currently no meaningful comment can be offered, and until then we'll have to make do with more 'sticking plaster' solutions such as advertising campaigns.

[James105]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

And parents buy junk food as a direct result of marketing of junk food.

 

 

 

And parents watch TV after 9pm when these adverts will still be shown making this intervention pointless.   Are you ready to admit these clowns in government are completely out of their depth and have no idea what they are doing yet?   

[Chomper Higgot]

10 hours ago, James105 said:

 

And parents watch TV after 9pm when these adverts will still be shown making this intervention pointless.   Are you ready to admit these clowns in government are completely out of their depth and have no idea what they are doing yet?   

I’ll admit no such thing.

 

They’ve been in Government 2 months, they’ve been in Government 2 months, barely any policies are started, let alone put into full effect.

 

I suggest you try to get over the news of July 5.

[stevenl]

10 hours ago, James105 said:

 

And parents watch TV after 9pm when these adverts will still be shown making this intervention pointless.   Are you ready to admit these clowns in government are completely out of their depth and have no idea what they are doing yet?   

If these ads were not effective before 9 they wouldn't be shown.

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, stevenl said:

If these ads were not effective before 9 they wouldn't be shown.

I want to hear more from Labour on restricting the advertising and sale of the processed foods, drugs and alcohol that are the root cause of so much of the nations ill health.

 

 

[James105]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I want to hear more from Labour on restricting the advertising and sale of the processed foods, drugs and alcohol that are the root cause of so much of the nations ill health.

 

If you want your life controlled by an authoritarian, tyrannical government wouldn't you be better moving to a country that already offers such a thing?  North Korea and China would offer the kind of lifestyle you would wish to impose on others.   

 

I have no problem with fatties being weighed and charged extra whenever they need to use a health service, just as I would have no problem with airlines charging those for 2 seats if they cannot fit into one, but taking away personal responsibility is ridiculous and healthy folks should not have to be treated like children just because some people cannot control what they put into their mouths.   

[Chomper Higgot]

16 minutes ago, James105 said:

 

If you want your life controlled by an authoritarian, tyrannical government wouldn't you be better moving to a country that already offers such a thing?  North Korea and China would offer the kind of lifestyle you would wish to impose on others.   

 

I have no problem with fatties being weighed and charged extra whenever they need to use a health service, just as I would have no problem with airlines charging those for 2 seats if they cannot fit into one, but taking away personal responsibility is ridiculous and healthy folks should not have to be treated like children just because some people cannot control what they put into their mouths.   

The choices people make are being controlled by corporate marketing.

 

Oh I know, you don’t respond to marketing, you’re a ‘free thinker’.

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I want to hear more from Labour on restricting the advertising and sale of the processed foods, drugs and alcohol that are the root cause of so much of the nations ill health.

 

 

Perhaps they can also give the elderly tips on staying warm in winter.

[youreavinalaff]

18 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

And parents buy junk food as a direct result of marketing of junk food.

 

 

Not as a direct result. Often it's laziness.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Not as a direct result. Often it's laziness.

 

 

Yes of course, that’s it, how could I have not known.

How about a lack of moral fortitude, do you think that might play a part?

 

 

[youreavinalaff]

45 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Yes of course, that’s it, how could I have not known.

How about a lack of moral fortitude, do you think that might play a part?

 

 

Surely not. You've already said it's a direct result if advertising.

 

I know you like to contradict others but, contradicting yourself is a new one and a funny one.