NHS keeps patients away because they are an inconvenience, new boss admits ahead of shake-up
NHS treats patients as ‘inconvenience’, says new boss
- Sir Jim Mackey, the new NHS chief executive, warns that the health service risks collapse if it fails to address public frustrations, stating it has "built mechanisms to keep patients away".
- Sir Jim highlighted issues like the 8am GP appointment scramble and difficulties contacting hospital wards as examples of the NHS treating patients like an “inconvenience”.
- He proposes significant reforms, including moving care from hospitals to local centres and drastically reducing routine outpatient follow-up appointments to free up resources.
- Sir Jim believes the NHS has wasted money and needs to be "de-layered" to improve efficiency, drawing on personal experiences of the system's failings with his own parents.
- Labour's upcoming 10-year NHS plan, to be unveiled by Wes Streeting, will focus on shifting care to the community, ending care disparities, and introducing "patient power payments" linked to satisfaction.