Streeting says NHS ‘broken but not beaten’ as he seeks private sector deal

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said the NHS is “broken but not beaten” as he defended plans to utilise the private sector to improve outcomes.

A review by eminent surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi due to be published on Thursday is expected to highlight how children are being let down by the health service.

It is also likely to pinpoint falling vaccination rates, and rises in ADHD medication and in eating disorder-related hospital admissions for children.

In the interview with the BBC, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the NHS is “broken” and has been left in an “unforgivable state” by the previous government.

Mr Streeting said the report from Lord Darzi would again highlight the much-discussed need for reform in the NHS.

He told Sky News: “I think what Lord Darzi, who is a very experienced clinician with decades of experience in the NHS and experience of serving both Labour and Conservative governments in different capacities, what he essentially says is the NHS is broken, but not beaten, and the investment matters, but so does reform.

“And if we don’t change the way that the NHS works as a system, then we will continue to see a heavy price for failure.

“The reason why we asked Lord Darzi to do this report was, if you don’t provide an accurate diagnosis for the patient, you’re not going to prescribe the right treatment.”

The Health Secretary has previously said he would utilise the private health sector to cut NHS waiting times and improve health outcomes.

Mr Streeting said the Government wants an “independent sector deal” in order to utilise more private capacity.

He said: “Fundamentally, I mean, it’s a means to an end.

“The end is to not just get the NHS back on its feet, but make sure it’s fit for the future, so that we’re not reliant on the independent sector in the longer term.

“How do we do that?

“We need three big shifts, a shift from hospital to community, better primary care, community services, mental health, social care, a shift from analogue to digital.

“Make sure we’ve got the latest treatments and technology, but also the improvements to the systems, the waste, the inefficiency, the bureaucracy we see in the NHS.

“And thirdly, a shift from sickness to prevention.

“We pay a very heavy price in this country, the price of society’s sickness.

“Actually, if we help people not just to live longer, but live well for longer, that’s not just better for them, it’s better for the taxpayer, and that’s how the NHS is sustainable.”

Mr Streeting said the rise in the number of people paying for treatments or surgeries out of pockets as a result of waiting lists has created a “two-tier system” that sees those that can’t afford it being “left behind.”

He said: “There’s nothing about my centre-left principles that says, because I believe in the NHS as a public service, I’m willing to see working class people waiting longer, even where there’s spare capacity in the private sector that we could use via the NHS to get those people treated faster.”

The Conservative shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins accused Labour of using Lord Darzi’s health review as “cover” to raise taxes in the upcoming Budget.

Also speaking to Sky News, Ms Atkins said: “This report, I fear, is cover for the Labour Party to raise our taxes in the budget in October, and they are laying the groundwork for this.

“They weren’t straight with us about winter fuel payments, they’re not being straight with us about taxes, and we need to have a grown-up conversation about the NHS, but this is not the way to go about it.”

She added: “I was clear as secretary of state that to build an NHS for the next 75 years, we have to marry reform with investment, and I tried to do that through the productivity plans, bringing tech to the frontline of NHS services, which I hear that Labour is cancelling.

“What worries me is what we’ve seen so far from the Health Secretary, the only thing he’s done is to give junior doctors a pay rise with no productivity reform.”