A report has been published following an independent review into NHS services.
The report by NHS surgeon Lord Darzi concludes:
“ the NHS is in a critical condition but its vital signs are strong”.
It is struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic, there have been “disastrous” management reforms and the “trust and goodwill of front-line staff has been lost”.
The report shows that waiting times and delays in getting emergency treatment are costing lives and damaging the nation’s health.
10-year plan for the NHS
Sir Keir Starmer states there will not be additional NHS funding without reform and commits to creating a new 10-year plan for the health service.
The Prime Minister has responded to the report and set out the new Government’s vision for the health service. The Health Secretary indicated that this vision will involve focusing on primary care and preventative medicine. BBC News reports that the Government has set out three crucial areas for reform:
- Digitalising the NHS
- Shifting care delivery from hospitals to community settings; and
- Prioritising preventative measures over treating illness
The report deals specifically with clinical negligence claims, highlighting that the increasing rate of clinical negligence claims is indicative of the poor state of the NHS. Formal complaints have doubled in number over the last decade.
Comment
Our clinical negligence team deals with the fall out from the NHS problems on a daily basis. We see patients who die or suffer avoidable harm as a result of the pressures within the health service. Many of our lawyers have been practising in this area for over 20 years and feel that the situation for patients is as bad as it has ever been.
We hear heartbreaking stories every day, for example of families who have lost loved ones whilst they were waiting for treatment in A&E, patients who have suffered brain or spinal injuries due to failures in care, and patients who have taken their own lives in mental health facilities.
We welcome the findings of the report, and the commitment of the Government to improve the Health Service. The report sets out the extraordinary depth of talent within the NHS and the commitment of the staff who are currently working under intolerable pressure.
The report makes it clear that it will take years rather than months to fix the issues with the health service, but that progress will be possible. We hope that this report will be the first step in providing a safe and efficient health service and preventing some of the devastating consequences we deal with.
How can we help?
Julie Hardy is a Partner in our expert Medical Negligence team, which is ranked in Tier One by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500, and Commended in The Times Best Law Firms 2024.
For further information in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, please contact Julie or another member of our team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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