'The NHS is not currently meeting the basic needs of patients'

WES Streeting spent much of his first year as Health Secretary describing the NHS as "broken" - but 12 months after he took office it remains in a "critical state", experts say.

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Asked about Labour's first year, sector leaders said the Government deserved credit for swiftly resolving a pay dispute with junior doctors and securing two strong funding settlements.

But the threat of fresh strikes, glacial progress on waiting lists and another winter of chaos in A&Es mean the health service still has "a mountain to climb".

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said: "Throughout the Government's first year, we have heard the Prime Minister and Health Secretary, time and time again, describe the NHS as broken.

Now it falls to them to fix it.

"We are 12 months in and so far we have reviews and plans now is the time for action." The NHS featured heavily in Labour's election manifesto, with promises to "build an NHS fit for the future" by cutting waiting times, doubling the number of cancer scanners, rescuing dentistry and bringing back the family doctor.

The party also pledged to return to the NHS constitutional standard of ensuring that 92% of patients receive planned treatment within 18 weeks by the end of Parliament in 2029.

NHS data shows the waiting list has fallen from 7.62 million procedures or appointments in July 2024 to 7.39 million this April — the most recent month for which data is available.

But the proportion of patients treated within 18 weeks remains almost unchanged at 59% compared with 60% last July.

Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at The King’s Fund think tank, suggested 92% may be out of reach. “It’s a herculean target to get back to 18 weeks on this timeframe,” he said. “When I look at the charts, they just look incredibly steep for how quickly performance has to improve.

“Even if you can do it, it will take so much money that it will be a black hole. What does that mean for A&E, cancer, ambulances and mental health?”