The publication of the Darzi report yesterday has set the stage for Labour to pitch its solutions to the public on how they are planning to cure a chronically struggling health service. Alongside the damage caused by Covid, the report asserts that the crisis has been driven by austerity and a lack of capital investment, firmly shifting the blame to prior Conservative governments rather than the administration of the health service itself. It identifies the issues we have all seen happen in real time – staff under stress, wait times growing, and infrastructure struggling to accommodate the numbers of patients.
The power of prevention as a possible solution is a constant drumbeat throughout the report. Speaking about the report, the Prime Minister said it will inform the upcoming ten-year plan for the health system which is due to be published in the Spring. He called out prevention as one of the three broad ‘shifts’ the NHS must make, alongside digitising the NHS and moving from hospital to community care. Labour appears to view the need for NHS reform as existential to the continuation of the service; if their prior health announcements about smoking bans are any indication, they are willing to take unapologetically controversial interventions to achieve these aims. Starmer rebutted questions around short-term fixes for the NHS through a rejection of ‘sticking plaster politics’, indicating a long-term commitment to the steer given to them by the report.
There are nods in the report to the role the pharmaceutical industry can play in reviving the NHS, but this is somewhat limited. There is a clear mention of how the NHS ‘should better support British biopharmaceutical companies’. This will be music to the ears of some but presents a challenge for others. Successful engagement will be determined by the quality of the solution being shared, and the level of commitment being offered, but some businesses will be closer to the front of the queue.
Finally, as has been heavily trailed, there is reference to the role the health service might play in driving productivity and the wider economic value of a health populace. This is certainly a theme that industry can speak to with some authority.
While the issues identified in the report will not be news to Sally Warren and Paul Corrigan CBE, who have been appointed to deliver the ten-year plan, their existing plans and ideas still have room to be augmented by industry and other key stakeholders and many of their proposals will take years to implement.
Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting will be using this report as blueprint to guide health policy moving forward. While Labour may have already formulated some of the ideas that they will seek to implement, there is still room for stakeholders to help shape thinking.
Portland Health’s Managing Director Katie Saxon:
“Workable solutions are still to be determined and consensus on the “how” will be hard fought. It’s now for all health actors – industry included – to reflect on the challenge at hand and be ready to partner with all corners of the system, balancing radical thinking with the art of the possible.”
Former head of Department of Health and Care communications and Portland Partner Max Blain:
“Some of the solutions needed to turn a sickness service into a prevention service may require legislation, adding complexity and time. There will be many moments when industry can engage, and companies should therefore be thinking long-term if they want to influence this government and feed into these policies over the coming years.”
