“it is reform or death”

The National Health Service (NHS), the British public health system, needs a “Major surgery, not band-aid solutions.” Following the publication of a damning 142-page report commissioned by the government earlier this summer, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged on Thursday 12 September to implement a ten-year NHS recovery plan.

Created shortly after World War II to offer free care to all, the state-run NHS is in deep crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and is suffering from a lack of staff and financial resources. Keir Starmer says he needs a “Major surgery, not band-aid solutions” to cover the rising costs of caring for an aging population without raising taxes.

“Workers can’t afford to pay more, so it’s reform or death”said the Labour prime minister, adding that he was aware that the upcoming changes would likely be unpopular. “Only fundamental reform and a long-term plan can transform the NHS and build a healthy society. It won’t be easy, it won’t be quick. It will require a ten-year plan.”

He gave few details about the plan in question and did not specify the date of publication of the draft. Keir Starmer said the previous Conservative government had “broke the NHS”leaving behind a legacy that he describes as devastating.

The damning report by Ara Darzi, a surgeon who sits in the House of Lords, found that the NHS had been plagued by a lack of investment, an ineffective attempt at reorganisation and the Covid-19 pandemic. The report also highlights rising numbers of patients suffering from long-term conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

She points out that the UK has a higher cancer incidence rate than other European countries, with huge waiting lists of patients seeking treatment. Finally, she notes that 10% of people arriving at emergency services wait more than 12 hours before being seen by a carer. ‘Despite having worked in the NHS for over 30 years, I was shocked by what I found’commented Ara Darzi, quoted in a press release.

The questioning of conservatives

The Conservatives “have inflicted [au NHS] what the report described as the most austere decade since the founding” of this health system, the Prime Minister insisted. He presented the “three big changes” with the aim of “Getting the NHS straight” : the transition to digital to improve the productivity of the system and caregivers, the development of outpatient care to alleviate congestion in hospitals, and prevention. “This means more tests, X-rays and care offered” out of the hospital or “long-term investments in new technologies that will help us detect and prevent problems earlier”listed in particular.

“The task before us is that of a generation”Starmer launched, promising to work with doctors and carers, who have stepped up strikes over the past two years, to demand pay rises and more resources, particularly an increase in staff. “The change could be the biggest reinvention of our NHS since its birth”estimated the Prime Minister, who assures that he does not want “raise taxes on workers”.

During the election campaign, all political parties promised to fix the NHS. But their commitments were not fulfilled. “not funded”stressed the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank.