Our NHS is 'fighting for its life'

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.

- By Hanna Geissler

Friday marks a year since Labour's 'loveless landslide' at the 2024 General Election and UK voters are already having buyer's remorse.

This week, the Express will examine Keir Starmer's first 12 months in power, holding Labour to account using its own promises as the benchmark. We'll revisit the party's pre-election 'missions' and assess just how far short they've fallen in delivering what they pledged to the British people. Today we start with the NHS.

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 dentristry 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.