How will Sir Keir Starmer fix the NHS? Prime Minster's 10-year reform plan for UK's healthcare
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Speaking at the King’s Fund annual conference, the Prime Minister acknowledged that some of his policies may not be universally popular, but he stressed the necessity of reform to improve the system.
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Hide AdHis vision for the NHS is to transform it into a “neighbourhood health service,” aiming to provide “more tests, scans, healthcare offered on high streets and town centres, improved GP access, bringing back the family doctor, offering digital consultations for those that want them, virtual wards and more patients safely looked after in their own homes.”
This approach would allow the NHS to focus on early intervention, preventing issues before they require hospital care or cause extended absences from work, he said.
Starmer also promised to boost hospital productivity, ensuring more patients are treated, and emphasised a shift towards prevention rather than just treatment of ill health. He said reforms have already started in some areas but admitted that the overall transformation would take years, not months.
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Hide AdAcknowledging the urgency of addressing NHS issues, he said: “We’re going to fix this with the first steps, but we’re going to do the long-term change.”
His announcement comes in the wake of findings of Lord Darzi’s rapid review, which described the NHS as “in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong.” The report highlighted long-standing problems like missed targets in A&E and cancer care, alongside falling productivity in hospitals.
Starmer made clear that “reform does not mean just putting more money in,” saying that while a Labour government would invest in the NHS, systemic issues must be addressed first.
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Hide Ad“We have to fix the plumbing before we turn on the taps,” he said, stressing that more funding would only come with meaningful changes. For instance, he said inefficiencies of relying on expensive agency staff or seeing patients stuck in hospitals due to a lack of community care, saying: “That isn’t just solved by more money, it’s solved by reform.”
The Prime Minister’s commitment to long-term change was echoed in his stance on preventing illness, where he expressed surprise at the high number of children hospitalised for preventable conditions like tooth decay. Starmer pledged to do “the right thing for our NHS, our economy, and our children,” adding that some preventive measures might be controversial but are essential for the future.
In addition, Labour has reaffirmed its commitment to curbing childhood obesity by restricting junk food advertising. Health minister Andrew Gwynne confirmed that the government would introduce a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising on TV and a total ban on paid-for online ads starting in October 2025.
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Hide AdAddressing the broader challenges of reform, Starmer acknowledged resistance to change, particularly from within some professional circles. “Whenever you try to reform anything, there will be some people, I’m afraid, who will say: ‘Oh, don’t do that, it’s better as it is,’” he said, pledging to take on such attitudes to drive forward the necessary changes.
Lastly, the Prime Minister promised to continue with the new hospital-building programme initiated by the previous Conservative government, though details of the exact plans are still awaited. Criticising the previous government’s claims, he added: “The last government went on and on about 40 new hospitals, which sounds great, but they weren’t 40, they weren’t new.”
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