NHS and government officials show a 'lack of ideas or drive' to transform the health service, MPs say
NHS and government officials show a 'lack of ideas or drive' to transform the health service, MPs say
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NHS and department of health officials show a "lack of ideas or drive" to transform the health service for patients, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report into the future of the health service months after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer laid out plans for "three big shifts" in the NHS.
They were moving from hospital-based to community care; from analogue to digital; and from treating ill health to preventing people getting sick in the first place. However, the PAC said that, under questioning, officials from both the department of health and NHS England do not seem ready to take that on.
The cross-party committee of MPs therefore added that the government's NHS ambitions seem to "run counter to officials' lack of ideas or drive to change". The PAC also accused NHS England of being "overly optimistic" regarding improving productivity in the NHS, adding that the financial position of the health service overall continues to worsen.
In its report published today, PAC says its findings show NHS England's "long-held" ambition to move more care from hospitals to the community "has stalled". 'Europe's Silicon Valley' at heart of government's growth plans, Rachel Reeves to announce. Big economy speech will take no immediate pressure off Rachel Reeves.
Simple blood test that could detect dementia at early stage begins trial in NHS clinics. Furthermore, despite carrying out 15% more planned activity compared with before the pandemic, the NHS is less productive overall once the activities of mental health trusts, community trusts and GPs are considered.
