Wes Streeting has vowed to end Britain’s two-tier healthcare system between the NHS and the private sector ahead of the announcement of his 10 year plan in the coming days, The London Economic can reveal.
The health secretary has revealed the government’s strategy will do “nothing less than to provide NHS patients with the same ease, convenience, power, choice and control that’s afforded to private patients” by investing billions of pounds to hire more staff, invest in new medical technology and expand access to care in “underserved” areas.
Streeting also attacked former Tory governments for managing the NHS’s decline for overseeing the NHS’s overall decline, which he says caused regional inequalities. He says it is Keir Starmer’s priority to “rebuild” the foundations, starting with the areas “where the need is greatest”.
Speaking in the North West, he said: “The ambition of our 10 year plan is nothing less than to provide NHS patients with the same ease, convenience, power, choice and control that’s afforded to private patients. But we know that there are many inequalities in healthcare. The one-size-fits-all approach often misses the distinct needs of women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, or people living in rural communities.
“And we will only deal with the grotesque health inequalities in our society if we empower all patients. It’s been the historic mission of the Labour Party to put power in the hands of the many, not the few. We’ve always believed that public services exist to serve the needs of all people, all passengers, all patients, above all else.”
Streeting added: “While the NHS declined for everyone under the Conservatives, the decline was felt more sharply in some places than others. So it’s fallen to this government to rebuild the NHS for all of us, and it’s right to start where the need is greatest.”
The government’s 10 year plan will be published this week with an array of measures to tackle healthcare problems. For example, supermarkets will be ordered to cut up to 100 calories from the average shopping basket to tackle obesity and the use of pharmacies will be expanded to treat conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes in a bid to cut waiting lists.