A new government-commissioned report has found that the ballooning waiting times for NHS appointments, delays in A&E and cancer care have been causing harm to the health of patients, and costing lives. The review, conducted by independent peer and NHS surgeon Lord Darzi, was critical of the health service in England, which is still struggling from the remnants of the pandemic, increased underinvestment and missing key targets for treatment. The report will be presented to Sir Keir Starmer, who highlights that people have every right to be angry, and the service must reform, or it will die.
The findings come as the UK Government has abdicated its plans to reform social care and build new hospitals. Although Lord Darzi did not extend his remit to devise solutions, his report did present a stark picture of the health service, which he deemed in a “critical condition” and “serious trouble.” The Prime Minister will respond to the report, proposing a new 10-year plan for the NHS, the biggest reimagining since its formation.
Lord Darzi’s report warned that the NHS is still grappling with the impact of the pandemic and falling short of the cancer, A&E, and hospital treatment targets set. As a result, the survival rates for cancer and heart disease are poor, and patient satisfaction rates have declined. The NHS is under severe strain due to the funding cuts and underinvestment, with outdated hospitals, fewer scanners than its developed peers, and a lack of innovation in digital technology, all contributing to the fall in productivity levels.
Lord Darzi was also critical of the coalition government’s “disastrous” 2012 NHS management shake-up, as it distracted the NHS for most of the previous decade. As a consequence, the NHS moved into the pandemic in a depleted state, leading to the highest number of canceled hospital treatments of any similar country globally, cause an “awful state” in A&E, which likely caused an extra 14,000 deaths a year, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
In conclusion, Lord Darzi’s report provides an insight into the NHS’s daunting challenges, and beyond the report’s scope, the deep-rooted problem associated with social care is still ravaging. It is imperative that the UK government proposes with effective solutions to revive the NHS’s dwindling condition. In the meantime, NHS organizations and its 1.5 million employees must brace themselves for a difficult winter ahead, with the waiting list expected to rise even higher
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