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There is a plan to improve NHS There are “cold echoes” of failures all around hs2MPs have warned and said Labor There is a “serious risk” of not meeting its pledge to cut waiting lists.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned that “bad practices” seen in the troubled project to build a high-speed rail link are being replicated in the health service and could lead to “ruined efforts” to reform the NHS.
HS2 has been described by politicians as a “terrible mess” after billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money was wasted amid years of delays.
This criticism came after MPs warned Initiative to reduce waiting times for planned care in England The programs have not met their goals under “highly variable” management.
MPs on the cross-party committee highlighted how billions have been spent to transform diagnostics and surgical services, yet the pace of change is still “too slow”.
The report also highlights plans to dismantle NHS England and absorb its functions into the Department of Health and Social Care, while reducing local health management teams, with the Department of Health set to take over responsibility for managing initiatives to cut waiting lists.
“Until it gets a hold on programs, it will remain a serious threat 92 percent of the waiting list could not meet its target Treatment will be administered within 18 weeks by 2029,” the MPs wrote.
Sir keir starmerThe transformation plan promises that by July 2029, 92 percent of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatments such as hip and knee replacements.
Labor MP and PAC deputy chairperson Clive Bates said: “Every unnecessary day that a patient spends on an NHS waiting list is one of increasing concern for that person’s unresolved case, and if they are not diagnosed, the risk to their life continues to increase.
“Every penny spent to return the NHS to pre-pandemic conditions must be precisely targeted, otherwise the system itself will become a barrier to appropriate care.
“Unfortunately, our report establishes that billions of dollars have been poured into the system over the past few years without the requisite attention to ensuring that the money does what it was intended for – improving outcomes for patients.”
He also said they were now seeing “scary echoes of past failures on HS2” as he urged the Government to provide assurances and details on how it expects to take its plans forward.
MPs on the committee also raised concerns about plans to restructure the top of the health service, amid concerns that the changes are being announced “without a delivery plan or funding”.
Last week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed that redundancies of thousands of NHS staff will now go ahead after funding the estimated £1bn cost was agreed with the Treasury.
The government has already announced that headcount across both NHS England and the Department of Health will be cut by around 50 per cent, with around 18,000 administrative staff and managers set to go, including across local health boards.
The new PAC report said: “We do not accept that it is sensible to make any major changes, such as the structural changes being made to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS England, without ensuring that the money is in place to pay for the changes, and without assessing the impact or taking other steps to protect value for money.
“These changes, particularly the planned cuts to ICBs (Integrated Care Boards), could have a significant negative impact on patients and the healthcare workforce through the level of uncertainty they create, and because they may limit the ability of NHS organizations to plan for the future.
“We are concerned that these poor practices, previously seen in the New Hospitals Program and the High Speed 2 programme, are being replicated here and will lead to wasted efforts.”
The report comes as doctors are on a five-day strike over pay – their 13th strike since March 2023.
Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew told Independent: “Wes {Streeting]has taken his eye off the ball. I think the No. 10 is tired of showboating and is thinking of trimming his wings.”
A DHSC source said Independent: “The waiting list increased every year for 14 years under the Conservatives. Thanks to Labour’s investment and reforms, the waiting list has been cut for the first time in 15 years. That’s the difference Labor is making.”
“Whether it’s the staff retention crisis, Andrew Lansley’s restructuring, or long-term underinvestment, Wes is cleaning up the mess left by the Tories and rebuilding our NHS.”
A DHSC spokesperson said, “This government inherited a broken NHS, with waiting lists growing and alternative services in desperate need of modernisation. This report focuses on the previous government, and we have taken immediate and strong action to tackle waiting lists and modernize alternative care.
“Through record investment and modernization, we have cut the backlog by more than 230,000 and smashed our target for additional appointments, and provided more than five million additional ones. Health service productivity is 2.7 percent higher than last year.”