‘Shift care closer to home’ to fix ‘troubled NHS’, says Darzi

Professor Lord Ara Darzi. Credit: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire

By Sarah Lowden

A major review of the health service has concluded there should be a shift in resources from reactive care in hospitals to more proactive care in the community setting to improve NHS performance.

The report [pdf] by independent peer Lord Darzi is focused on the NHS but noted the impact an under-resourced social care sector has on the health service.

The rapid review, completed in 9 weeks, attempts to diagnose the problems in the NHS and set out themes for the government to incorporate into a 10-year plan for reforming the service.

The widely respected surgeon and former health minister argues in his report that the NHS “can be fixed”.

“Nothing that I have found draws into question the principles of a health service that is taxpayer-funded, free at the point of use, and based on need not ability to pay.”

He 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”.