Failure on the NHS is not an option
3 min read
Reforming the NHS is not separate from the growth agenda. It’s central to it.
The NHS is no longer just under pressure. It’s under threat. Across the country, access is faltering — appointments near-impossible to get, treatments delayed, staff overwhelmed. Public concern has moved beyond frustration. A growing majority now believe that without urgent reform, the NHS cannot survive.
That fear is backed by hard numbers. According to our recent polling at the Good Growth Foundation, 80 per cent of voters believe the NHS must change to survive. And 71 per cent fear they may soon have to pay for care. Among those considering abandoning Labour for Reform UK, the figure rises to 77 per cent. It is paramount that we reform our healthcare system so that the NHS remains free, universal and provides the best possible care for future generations. The public still backs the NHS founding principle: care should be free at the point of use, funded through general taxation. There is next to no support for an American-style private insurance system.
Fixing the NHS is now seen as the number one national challenge — more important than tackling crime, controlling immigration, or growing the economy. In fact, twice as many people prioritise the NHS over economic growth. There is a powerful political and moral mandate for action.
This is where Labour’s 10-Year Health Plan matters. It offers a clear vision: preventing sickness before it occurs, care closer to home, and bringing the NHS into the 21st century with digital innovation. Crucially, the public backs this kind of reform — not as a theoretical vision, but as a practical route to a better NHS. People are ready for a smarter, more responsive system that delivers for those who depend on it.
But the challenge isn’t vision. It’s delivery. There have been many plans for the NHS which have fallen by the wayside, and the British public is sceptical of promises of jam tomorrow. They want to see real, everyday improvements: shorter waits, easier access, and better outcomes. And this matters not just politically, but structurally.
Because the health of the NHS is deeply linked to the health of the country. Plain and simple: to grow the economy, we need a healthy workforce. We currently have 2.8m people in the UK who are economically inactive due to ill-health: a reformed NHS means getting people off waiting lists, back on their feet and back into work. It would also reduce pressure to rely on immigration to fill chronic workforce gaps. Health reform is not separate from economic renewal. It’s central to it.
To close the ‘growth gap’, ensuring economic growth is the sort people can see and feel, a healthier society is crucial. It’s why we’re researching and developing policy around prevention and community care: they are the kinds of changes that will improve people’s lives and restore confidence in public services. If healthcare isn’t up to standard, people will take notice, acutely.
Putting the NHS on the path to recovery is not just a policy challenge. If the government wants to be re-elected in four years, it must put the NHS front and centre, bringing in radical reform which transforms the healthcare people experience. Gone must be the days of 8am GP scrambles, hours waiting for an ambulance or months for a critical operation.
A healthier NHS means a healthier country: more people in work, fewer families pushed to the brink, and renewed trust in our public services. The race to save the NHS is on — and failure is not an option.
Praful Nargund is director of the Good Growth Foundation.
