Wes Streeting takes NHS mandate 'back to basics' as health secretary wages war on overspending
Wes Streeting takes NHS mandate 'back to basics' as health secretary wages war on overspending
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The health secretary, who said he will bring the health service “back to basics”, warned that the “NHS must learn to live within its means”. In a foreword to the 2025 mandate, Mr Streeting said the approach will put “the NHS on the road to recovery”.
![[The Heath Secretary will reveal his NHS mandate on Thursday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/22/11/SEI234345298.jpg)
“The last Labour government delivered the shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction on record. It won’t be easy, but together we’ll do it again”, he said. “We recognise that this will mean tough decisions need to be made and local systems should feel empowered to make them”, Mr Streeting warned. "The culture of routine overspending without consequences is over.".
While the health secretary has insisted it will “deliver on patients’ priorities”, health bodies have expressed concerns that the new mandate will sideline important programmes, risking patient and staff health and wellbeing. “We are telling the NHS to go back to basics and focus on the fundamentals. It needs to deliver on patients’ priorities – shorter waiting times, being able to get a GP appointment and ambulances that arrive on time”, he told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
Professor Vivien Lees, vice president of RCS England and Council lead for sexual misconduct, said: "While we support the secretary of state's push for focused NHS priorities, including waiting times, we argue that addressing significant cultural and workforce issues, particularly sexual misconduct, is crucial for improving NHS working conditions.
