9 bombshells from ‘damaged’ NHS report – horror most cancers stats to very large A&E queues

A damning report has found that the NHS is in a “critical condition” – with Keir Starmer saying people “have every right to be angry”.

A probe by Lord Ara Darzi identified serious and widespread problems for people accessing services. Mr Starmer will say the scale of the damage uncovered is “unforgivable” – saying it has tragic consequences for too many patients and their families.

In a speech today he will say: “People have every right to be angry. It’s not just because the NHS is so personal to all of us – it’s because some of these failings are life and death.

“Take the waiting times in A&E. That’s not just a source of fear and anxiety – it’s leading to avoidable deaths.” And he added: “People’s loved ones who could have been saved. Doctors and nurses whose whole vocation is to save them – hampered from doing so. It’s devastating.”

Lord Darzi says the country “cannot afford not to have the NHS, so it is imperative that we turn the situation around”, adding that the health service “is in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong”.

1. NHS progress going backwards

NHS progress is going backwards for the first time in half a century – due in a large part to management of heart health which is the UK’s second biggest killer.

Cardiovascular diagnoses and operations are delayed while rapid access to emergency treatment has deteriorated.

The time for the highest risk heart attack patients to have a rapid intervention to unblock an artery has risen by 28% from an average of 114 minutes in 2013/14 to 146 minutes in 2022/ 23.

2. ‘Lasting damage’ of austerity

The austerity-era reforms under David Cameron ’s government caused “lasting damage” and took ten years for the NHS to return to a level of normality. The 2012 reforms under then-Health Secretary Andrew Lansley which fragmented the NHS while ushering in the private sector and an era of “competition” between health bodies. This type of reform was “without international precedent” and effectively a stab in the dark, the report will say.

The report said the 2010s were “the most austere decade since the NHS was founded in 1948”. Annual rises were 1% on average, compared to an average of 3.5% since the NHS was founded. This meant hospitals all but halted investment in buildings, IT systems and machines like scanners to prioritise day to day running costs. This has caused NHS productivity to plummet.

3. A&E queues have more than doubled

A&E queues more than doubled. In 2009 patients would average around 40 people ahead of them in the queue when they arrived. In 2024 that is more than 100.

In 2010 some 94% of people attending major A&Es were seen within four hours nut by May 2024 that figure had dropped to just over 60%. One in ten patients are now waiting for more than 12 hours.

4. Kids’ health is getting worse

Children’s health has worsened over the last decade linked to severe delays accessing care. 800,000 children and young people are on NHS waiting lists for hospital treatment.

There has been a “surge” in multiple long-term conditions, including a rise in poor mental health among children and young people. Fewer children get their vaccines and fewer adults now participate in things such as breast cancer screening.

5. No progress on cancer stage 1 and 2 diagnoses

The UK has worse cancer survival rates than other comparable countries. There was no progress whatsoever in diagnosing cancers in stages 1 and 2 between 2013 and 2021.

The report states: “The number of cancer cases in England has risen at a rate of 1.7 per cent a year from 2001 to 2021. When standardised for age, it has still risen at 0.6 per cent annually.

“The result is that there were around 96,000 more cases of cancer in 2019 than in 2001. While survival rates at 1-year, 5-year and 10-year have all improved, the rate of improvement slowed substantially during the 2010s.”

6. Long term conditions up

The health of the nation has deteriorated significantly in the last decade with more people living with multiple long term conditions. Lord Darzi’s report found more years are spent in ill-health.

Factors affecting health, such as poor quality housing, low income and insecure employment, “have moved in the wrong direction over the past 15 years, with the result that the NHS has faced rising demand for healthcare from a society in distress”.

At the start of 2024, 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with most of the rise since the pandemic down to mental health conditions. The report said “being in work is good for wellbeing” and having more people in work grows the economy. “There is therefore a virtuous circle if the NHS can help more people back into work.”

7. UK behind on tech

The NHS is behind almost all other comparable nations for IT systems and going from paper records to digital. It will say the NHS is 15 years behind the private sector in its use of technology and outdated IT systems add to the workload of medics, making the NHS less productive.

The report states: “The last decade was a missed opportunity to prepare the NHS for the future and to embrace the technologies that would enable a shift in the model from ‘diagnose and treat’ to ‘predict and prevent.’”

Lord Darzi said the NHS needs a “major tilt” toward new technology.

8. UK performed worse in pandemic

Lack of NHS capacity and resources after a decade of austerity meant the UK had to cancel more routine operations than any other comparable country.

The report will blame a collapse in capital investment in hospital buildings and equipment.

It comes days after the Covid-19 Inquiry heard medics had to refuse patients “moderately high risk” yet lifesaving procedures during the pandemic. One hospital doctor spoke of having to tell a patient with a bowel perforation over the phone that they were going to die because they could not be offered an operation.

9. Waiting time targets being missed across the board

Waiting times targets are being missed across the board, including for surgery, cancer care, A&E and mental health services. The report says “long waits have become normalised” and “A&E is in an awful state”.

By April 2024, about one million people were waiting for mental health services. The overall NHS waiting list stands at 7.6 million.