State of NHS investigation published

3 mins read

Friday 13 September 2024

Tags: disability, survey, health, nhs, mental health

The Darzi review into the state of the NHS has been published this week. In this story we summarise what the review found and what Contact wants to happen next.

What is the Darzi Review?

After the election, the new Labour government asked Lord Darzi, a surgeon and former health minister, to investigate issues within the health service. The aim was to highlight areas for a longer-term improvement plan.

The results of the report are now in and describe the NHS as being in “serious trouble”.

“Devastating, heartbreaking and infuriating” is how Prime Minister Keir Starmer summed up the findings shortly after. However, he also said that the NHS was “broken but not beaten”.

What does the report say?

The report describes the NHS as being in a “critical condition”.

Describing long waiting times in A&E causing thousands of extra deaths and higher cancer mortality rates than other countries, the report makes for difficult reading.

The report notes a rise in multiple long-term conditions amongst young people, including mental health, asthma, obesity and diabetes. They are also waiting longer than adults to access healthcare.

Many families have, however, welcomed the spotlight finally shone on what they describe as a “crisis” amongst children and young people’s health.

“I am relieved that someone is saying what we have all been experiencing for years – maybe this will actually mean things change for the better”.

Katie, parent carer to Thomas who is 16 and has complex learning disabilities.

Lord Darzi also highlighted that factors such as unsuitable housing have been “moving in the wrong direction over the past 15 years”. This is an area that we continue to campaign on.

Dire state of social care

Lord Darzi is also concerned about the “dire” state of social care. This he said was not “valued or resourced sufficiently”.

He highlighted the ever-growing gap between people’s needs and publicly-funded social care and the burden this is placing on families and the NHS. Again, we highlighted this in our roadmap for the new government.

What is the government doing in response?

The government has announced that it will publish a 10-year plan to reform the NHS. This is due for publication in spring 2025.

What we want to see

The 10-year plan must prioritise health services for disabled children, including focusing on reducing waiting lists for assessment and diagnosis, and access to special equipment and therapies.

The plan must have clear goals on reducing health inequalities that disabled children from Black and Minority Ethnic communities experience.

What can I do?

Make your voice heard and fill in our Counting the Costs state of the nation survey.

We need evidence on how going without essentials and poor housing affects the health of families with disabled children.