Sajid Javid has likened the NHS to defunct video shop Blockbuster, claiming it is in dire need of modernisation.
The health secretary told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that sticking with the status quo is not an option – and that the UK currently has a “Blockbuster healthcare system in the age of Netflix”.
It comes as the government has set the NHS a target of improving its productivity as it attempts to save £4.5 billion per year.
Labour was unimpressed. Wes Streeting, Javid’s opposite number, accused him of making comments without any plans to take action.
He said: “I think it’s slightly absurd that 12 years into a government we have government ministers who talk in the biggest generalities without plans to deliver anything.
“We have a government that is not governing and doesn’t have answers. It just has generalities.”
On #BBCBreakfast, Javid was asked whether his Netflix analogy means patients will start paying a subscription for the service.
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