NHS could ‘go the way of Woolies’ and collapse without reform, Streeting warns
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Wes Streeting has warned the NHS could “go the way of Woolies” unless it is brought “into the 21st century” by reform. The Health Secretary said Sir Keir Starmer will set out a plan to ensure the NHS does not collapse like high street retail chain Woolworths did following the 2008 financial crisis.
Mr Streeting said the Government is placing a “heavy emphasis on reform, not just investment” because the NHS faces an “existential” challenge. He told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “When the Prime Minister sets out the plan, you will see the wide range of reform we’re putting in place to modernise the NHS to give it the tools to do the job, to bring it into the 21st century, so the NHS doesn’t go the way of Woolies and collapse, but is actually a service fit for the 21st century.”.
More NHS patients who need elective care will be able to decide where they are treated under new Government plans to slash waiting lists. The NHS app will be overhauled to give patients more choice under the elective reform plan, which is set to be announced this week.
Mr Streeting has said the move will shift the NHS “into the digital age” and help cut waiting times “from 18 months to 18 weeks”. Action will also be taken to tackle missed appointments, which can be costly for the health service. Experts welcomed the move, but warned digital innovations must not “create new barriers” and “come at the expense of excluding those without a smartphone”.
