Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for implementation of the review by Lord Darzi entitled Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, published on 12 September 2024.

Lord Darzi’s full report has laid bare the true extent of the challenges facing our health service, giving us the frank assessment necessary to face these problems honestly and properly and do the hard work required to fix them. Lord Darzi’s findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the National Health Service and build a health service that is fit for the future.

The plan will consider the change needed to meet the three health mission goals; a fairer system where everyone lives well for longer, an NHS that is there when people need it, and fewer lives lost to the biggest killers. This is a long-term challenge and will take time to deliver, and so the plan will consider both what immediate actions are needed to get the NHS back on its feet and bring waiting lists down, as well as the longer-term changes needed to make the health service fit for the future.

Alongside the 10-year health plan we are also taking action to address immediate challenges in the health service, such as hiring a thousand more general practitioners and ending junior doctor strikes. We have also committed to cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments every week, double the number of cancer scanners, develop a new Dentistry Rescue Plan, hire 8,500 additional mental health staff, and ensure the return of the family doctor.