NHS report: What will the Government do now to reform the health service?

The Government has pledged to create a 10-year plan for the NHS to tackle its most serious problems after a damning report found it was “in trouble”.

– What does the report say – in a nutshell?

A review by respected surgeon Lord Darzi found widespread issues across the health service, with stark figures published on how long people wait for care.

He pointed out that thousands of lives are lost or put at risk because people cannot get the care they need – or wait too long – in hospitals, while thousands more struggle to access GP appointments.

Lord Darzi dismissed the idea of moving the NHS to one based on insurance payments, and instead said England needed the NHS, but it needed reform.

His recipe for change includes channelling cash into primary care, such as GP services and community care, and preventing people getting ill to reduce the burden on services.

– What will the Government do now?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have pledged to create a 10-year plan to turn the NHS around.

This will focus on three key areas – creating far more opportunities for care in the community, such as scans and tests in town centres and more GP appointments; preventing ill health taking hold in the first place through getting the nation to be healthier; and making sure the NHS makes the most of digital opportunities.

Sir Keir said on Thursday he was not afraid of bold change, and accepted that some measures to prevent people getting sick may not prove popular.

The devil will be in the detail.

– What do health charities and NHS groups think?

Lord Darzi’s report has been broadly welcomed, with some NHS groups pointing out that problems in the health service have been long-standing and grown over decades.

The thing they want now is action – measures that will turn the health service around and make a real difference to patients in the short and long term.

There is also a need for the Government to take staff with them after Lord Darzi said huge numbers are off sick, exhausted and disengaged.

Some GPs who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are already taking collective action due to workloads, such as limiting how many patients they will see.

Neither the Government or NHS leaders want to see a return of strike action by doctors and nurses. Previous strikes paralysed the NHS and led to thousands of cancelled operations and appointments.

– What about social care?

Sir Keir has said fixing social care must be part of any plan to build an NHS for the future, but few details have been forthcoming.

The Prime Minister was twice asked by reporters about timings for major reform of social care but declined to give detail other than repeating Labour’s “ambition” to have a National Care Service.

He said he wants such a service to be created “as consensually as possible” and with cross-party involvement.

Sir Keir indicated that a reference to capping care costs will be included in the 10-year plan, but cautioned that such a measure must be “deliverable”.

On capping care costs, the Prime Minister said on Thursday: “Promises were again made by the last government.

“They were delayed because they were undeliverable. We’ve looked at them. We don’t think they are deliverable in the time frame the last government said.

“That’s why we’ve taken them down and will review it.

“It is an issue we are going to have to look at, I readily accept that. We will have it within the 10-year plan, but again it’s got to be done properly, it’s got to be deliverable.”