UK: Starmer Says NHS Must 'Reform or Die'

Improve the News Foundation -
0:00
/1861

Facts

  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has claimed the NHS must undertake 'major surgery' and 'reform or die' following the results of a review into England's health services.[1][2]
  • Speaking at the King's Fund, Starmer pledged three major changes as part of a 10-year NHS plan — moving from analog to digital technology, transitioning from hospital care to community care, and focusing on prevention instead of sickness.[3][4]
  • While committing to 'the biggest reimagining of the NHS' since its creation, Starmer also noted that there would be 'no more money without reform' and that the system could not 'duck long-term change.'[5]
  • The report into England's NHS was commissioned by the new Labour government following this year's general election and is the result of a nine-week process led by independent peer, and NHS surgeon, Lord Darzi.[5]
  • Lord Darzi's summary letter highlights record low public satisfaction in the health service, noting that the NHS 'has not been able to meet the most important promises made' concerning waiting times and quality of treatment since 2015.[6]
  • The report cites four interconnected factors responsible for the NHS' 'current dire state' — austerity and capital investment shortfalls, the COVID pandemic; low productivity and high staff and patient disengagement, and a 'disastrous' management structure implemented within the Health and Social Care Act 2012.[7]

Sources: [1]Guardian, [2]Daily Mail, [3]The Mirror, [4]GB News, [5]BBC News, [6]GOV.UK and [7]www.gov.uk.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Evening Standard and The Mirror. After far too long of Conservatives ignoring the root causes of the UK health system's decline, there's hope that Starmer and Streeting hold a credible plan to reverse the UK's healthcare doom spiral. The new government's long-term reform-focused NHS strategy is a relief after many years of short-term 'sticking plaster' approaches. All eyes now will now be on performance — Labour will be well aware of the consequences of failing to achieve their lofty promises in what many may come to see as a legacy-defining test for Starmer.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by LBC and C+D. While Starmer and Lord Darzi are correct in their diagnosis of the many challenges currently facing the NHS, to believe the service can be fixed without a significant increase in funding risks is a dangerous repetition of an approach that has helped create this mess in the first place. Unless Labour rolls up its sleeves and finally forces those who are better off to contribute their fair share of tax to fund key pillars of British society, the NHS will only continue to crumble in front of the UK's very eyes.

Predictions