SIR KEIR STARMER told the NHS to “reform or die” today, stressing there will be no new cash to keep it alive.
But the Prime Minister was told by unions, professionals, and other parties that extra investment in the NHS is urgent.
Responding to Lord Darzi’s report on the state of the service, Sir Keir ruled out extra cash to repair the effects of austerity.
He said: “The NHS is at a fork in the road. And we have a choice about how it should meet these rising demands.
“Don’t act and leave it to die. Raise taxes on working people or reform to secure its future. Working people can’t afford to pay more. So it’s reform or die.”
He claimed that reform would remain true to the “founding ideals” of the NHS, “of a public service, publicly funded, free at the point of use.”
But he added: “Reform does not mean just putting more money in. We have to fix the plumbing before turning on the taps.
“So, hear me when I say this: no more money without reform.”
He proposed a 10-year plan focussed on “moving from an analogue to a digital NHS,” shifting care from hospitals to communities and emphasising prevention.
But Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Many years of underinvestment, critical staffing shortages, a failing care system and unnecessary but damaging reforms have all taken a massive toll.
“Reform is needed, but that won't come without a cost. Just as with social care, the NHS can't get back to tip-top health without a well-resourced team of staff.”
In the Commons, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told Health Secretary Wes Streeting that “there is no escaping the fact that alongside constant modernisation, the NHS needs more money, and it needs it now if it is to deliver the best possible healthcare.”
And Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “Starmer says there can be no money without reform.
“We say there can be no improvement to waiting times, cancer death rates, treatment for mental health and many other struggling areas without more money.”
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Nicola Ranger said: “The best reform in the NHS looks at investment as well as the delivery and standard of each service.
“Only that holistic approach will achieve the aims being set out today by the Prime Minister.
“This must start with significant investment in the nursing workforce to make any reforms or shifts viable.”
