Sajid Javid says NHS is like ‘Blockbuster in the age of Netflix’
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Sajid Javid made the comparison at a Cabinet meeting and told ministers it was no longer “an option to stick to the status quo”. He said he was accepting all seven recommendations of an independent review led by General Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard.
These include more training for NHS managers, more consistent standards across the service and tougher appraisals.
Mr Javid, speaking about the now-defunct movie rental company, said: “We have a Blockbuster healthcare system in the age of Netflix.
“The NHS faces huge challenges as we recover from the pandemic, from tackling the Covid backlogs to addressing the widespread health disparities that exist across the country.
“The findings in this report are stark, it shows examples of great leadership but also where we need to urgently improve.”
The Health Secretary made his remarks on the same day he announced the biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation to improve patient care.
The health service costs £136billion of taxpayers’ cash every year and will swallow the £30billion raised by the controversial national insurance hike of 1.25 per cent over the next three years.
Despite all that – and an extra £3billion to help with the recovery from Covid – waiting lists have soared since the pandemic.
One in nine people in England are in the queue for routine treatments like hip and knee ops, and analysts fear the toll will continue to rise for another two years.
The NHS has also come under fire for its “gridlocked” cancer system, worst-ever A&E performance times and record ambulance delays.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting poured scorn on Mr Javid’s Blockbuster and Netflix comments.
He claimed that ministers talk in “the biggest generalities” without having the plans to follow through.
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