British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, visit to the University College London Hospital (UCLH), in London.
| Photo Credit: AP

LONDON

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the country’s National Health Service (NHS) needs to “reform or die” following a damming report on the state of Britain’s free healthcare system.

“We know working people can’t afford to pay more, so it’s reform or die,” Mr. Starmer said during a speech on Thursday (September 12, 2024).

The remarks followed the publication of a government commissioned report, authored by former U.K. Health Secretary and doctor, Ara Darzi, which said that the NHS was in “critical condition” although its  “vital signs” were strong.

The report cites 14,000 additional deaths per year owing to the state of the healthcare system, long wait times, “crumbling buildings” and  mental health patients being housed in “Victorian-era cells infested with vermin”. A lack of capital investment during the 2010s, when the Conservative government was in power, as well as the impact of the pandemic were contributing factors to the current situation, as per the report.

Describing the state of the NHS as “devastating, heartbreaking, infuriating”, Mr. Starmer said there would be no extra funding for  the system without reform, as he outlined a ten year reform period centred on three thematic changes. Mr. Starmer said the NHS would shift to greater digitisation, preventative medicine and more community-based – rather than hospital-based – care for patients.

The NHS is a significant employer of foreigners, with Indians leading the list. A total of 60,533 Indian citizens were employed by the service as per the U.K. government data from June 2023.