Labour's plan for the NHS: more money plus vital reform

Telegraph

5 hours ago

The commitments that the Government made to our NHS in the Spending Review were made in full recognition of the scale of the challenge we inherited and the bold reforms we're already implementing.
While it is correct that NHS productivity has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, it is wrong to imply that our response has been to throw more money at the problem, without an equal focus on productivity.
Let's be clear: after 14 years of mismanagement, we found an NHS in crisis. Not just underfunded, but fundamentally broken in its structures and operations. The waiting list stood at 7.6 million people in September 2024. 10 per cent of patients were waiting more than 12 hours in A&E. Public satisfaction had dropped to record lows.
This crisis demands not just investment, but radical reform. That's precisely what we're delivering.
Take our decision to abolish NHS England. This isn't an ideological choice – it's a practical one that will cut duplication, remove unnecessary bureaucracy, and crucially, redirect hundreds of millions of pounds straight to frontline services. The bloated administrative structure created under the previous government hasn't delivered better care – it's created waste, confusion, and ultimately contributed to worse outcomes for patients.
We are also tackling the scandalous spending on agency staff. Under the last government, one trust paid an agency £5,100 for a shift by a single doctor in 2022/23. We've cut almost £1 billion in agency spending and our ambition is to eliminate agency use entirely in the coming years. Those billions will be reinvested in permanent staff who provide better continuity of care.
We've upgraded the NHS App so that it now sends appointment reminders and test results digitally instead of by post, saving £200 million on stamps, envelopes, and printing.
We found an NHS drowning in targets – many contradictory, some counterproductive. We've halved the number of targets set for NHS trusts so that they can focus on what matters to patients: waiting times for operations, ambulances, A&E attendance, rebuilding general practice and dentistry, and improving mental health services.
As a result, waiting lists are at a two-year low – but we know they need to fall further. Our Plan for Change outlines how 92 per cent of elective patients should wait less than 18 weeks. We're laser-focused on that goal.
Similarly, we've halved the targets that GPs are measured on. The previous government even introduced a target measuring GPs' wellbeing, while simultaneously overwhelming them with bureaucracy. We're freeing doctors to focus on patients by bringing back the family doctor model and ending the 8am phone scramble.
These are precisely the productivity measures which are needed by our NHS and by Britain.
Last week's Spending Review delivered a £29 billion real terms increase for the healthcare system to 2029. But let's be clear – a lot of this money is linked to reform.
Every penny we invest comes with expectations of reform and improved outcomes. We're cutting waste, streamlining bureaucracy, and empowering frontline staff to deliver better care.
That's why we're developing a 10-Year Health Plan for publication in the coming weeks, built around three fundamental shifts: from hospital to community care, from analogue to digital systems, and from treatment to prevention.
The problems in our NHS didn't develop overnight, and they won't be solved overnight either. But unlike our predecessors, we're not afraid of making difficult decisions and driving through the reforms our public services desperately need.
Public service productivity does matter – that's why we're reforming the NHS to deliver better care at better value for taxpayers. Our plan combines investment with genuine radical change. After 14 years of decline, that's what real change looks like.