The NHS is in critical condition - and people are dying because of it
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA major NHS probe has concluded the NHS is in ‘critical condition’, as waiting lists surge and the nation’s health spirals. Led by eminent NHS surgeon and independent peer Lord Ara Darzi, the review was ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting shortly after the election, and was anticipated to be a painfully candid assessment of the state of the health service.
Today, September 12, the damning report uncovered shocking revelations – including A&E queues more than doubling from an average of just under 40 people on a typical evening in April 2009 to over 100 in April 2024.
One in 10 patients are also now waiting for 12 hours or more. Lord Darzi said: “Although I have worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, I have been shocked by what I have found during this investigation - not just in the health service but in the state of the nation’s health… “In the last 15 years, the NHS was hit by three shocks - austerity and starvation of investment, confusion caused by top-down reorganisation, and then the pandemic which came with resilience at an all-time low.
Two out of three of those shocks were choices made in Westminster.” READ MORE: 'I can't do anything to rebuild our crumbling hospitals', Greater Manchester NHS boss says as he slams 'red tape' The report makes for an unflinching investigation into the state of the NHS. “We want to deliver high quality care for all but far too many people are waiting for too long and in too many clinical areas, quality of care has gone backwards,” said Lord Darzi, at the publication of the report. “My colleagues in the NHS are working harder than ever but our productivity has fallen. “We get caught up frantically trying to find beds that have been axed or using IT that is outdated or
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