“It is apparent from this report and from the accompanying analysis that the NHS is in critical condition. It continues to struggle with the aftershocks of the pandemic. Its managerial capacity and capability have been degraded by disastrous management reforms, and the trust and goodwill of many frontline staff has been lost. The service has been chronically weakened by a lack of capital investment which has lagged other similar countries by tens of billions of pounds. All of this has occurred while the demands placed upon the health service have grown as the nation’s health has deteriorated” (Lord Darzi, September 2024)
It is not often that I come into the office eager to read a 159 page central government report, but today the report by Lord Darzi was waiting for me. Never one to want to wait to get to the interesting part, I jumped to the conclusion and read with interest. Above is the first paragraph of the report’s conclusion. While I will permit you to read the full report yourselves at your leisure, I would like to make a couple of comments.
Firstly, when Labour came into power I was expecting some rather radical changes within the NHS rather quickly, so my heart sank when the first announcement was an independent investigation. Would it be months or years before we saw any recommendations, and thus action. However, I am very pleasantly surprised to see the review conclude very rapidly. A huge well done to Lord Darzi and his team.
Secondly, I am equally heartened to see that the report supports the managers within the NHS. Often a butt of jokes and sometimes vilified by politicians or the press, NHS managers have been “focused on “keeping the show on the road”” (Darzi, 24). Over my career in the NHS I have seen many managers just give up and move away from the public sector citing that the odds are simply against them. Quite simply we don’t need fewer managers, we need more.
My final point is around the capital. It is good to see the recognition that the NHS has been starved of capital funds over many years, and that we are in a much worse place compared to other countries in the first world. While this doesn’t change the current financial position of the country, understanding the issues at hand will support the government in setting future priorities.
I would also like to leave you with the final sentence from the report, and urge everybody within the NHS, and everybody that relies on the NHS (ie, everyone in the country!) to read this report and truly understand the issues at hand when engaging with our services.
“The NHS is a wonderful and precious institution. And no matter the challenges it faces, I am convinced it can return to peak performance once again” (Lord Darzi, September 2024)
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