The NHS was “broken” by the previous government, Keir Starmer tells the BBC

England’s NHS has been “broken” by Conservative-led governments – and the state it is in now is “unforgivable”, Sir Keir Starmer has told the BBC.

In his first major Downing Street speech, the Prime Minister said a review of the health service to be published on Thursday found that changes to the NHS were “dishonest”.

He said the frustration of the coalition years, and then the Conservative government’s handling of the epidemic, had left the NHS in “a terrible state”.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir added that the review by the renowned surgeon, Lord Darzi, is expected to reveal too many children are being “let down” by the health service.

“Anyone who has looked at this who has used the NHS, or whose relatives have, knows that it is broken,” Sir Keir said. “That is inexcusable, the state of our NHS.”

Responding to Sir Keir’s comments, the shadow health secretary, Victoria Atkins, said after 14 years of opposition, “The job offer is to politicize children’s health issues, rather than providing solutions and to transform our NHS”.

Daisy Cooper, health spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said “years and years of Conservative failure have brought the NHS to its knees”.

He said the party has “called for an emergency health budget from this new government” and “will push them every step of the way”.

The Prime Minister said the report will say the current problems stem from historical factors, including the “unreliable” reforms pursued by former Conservative Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in 2012.

In particular, the report is expected to reveal increased waiting times, declining vaccination rates, and other adverse health outcomes for children. The results are expected to show:

• More than 100,000 babies waited more than six hours in A&E departments in England last year.
• Waiting times for babies have increased by 60% in the last 15 years
• Around 800,000 children and young people are on NHS waiting lists for hospital treatment, with 175,000 waiting between six and 12 months and 35,000 waiting for more than a year.
• ADHD medications for children and adolescents increased by 10% annually between 2004 and 2023.
• Hospital admissions for children and young people with eating disorders increased by 82% from 2019 to 2020.

It is also expected to find that children from very poor families were twice as likely to be obese at the age of admission.

In the poorest areas, the report finds, almost one in three children is obese by the age of 6.

Meanwhile, the report says life-threatening and life-limiting conditions among children have risen by 40% in the past two decades.

The full details of Darzi’s report will be published on Thursday.

As Sir Keir said, the report was to provide a diagnosis so that a long-term cure could be worked out.

Some of Lord Darzi’s report has been pre-empted by the government with eye-popping findings, and his conclusion that there were “real concerns” about the NHS’s ability to deliver quality control.

But there will be much more in the report that will be published in the next few days. What will it say, for example, about direct GP services? Or to retain and hire employees? There is no doubt that it will present many problems and difficulties.

Sir Keir blamed the Tories for the problems, echoed the government’s claims about its economic legacy, and argued that only Labor could bring about the change the government needed.

“It was the last government that broke the NHS,” Sir Keir said. “Our job now with Lord Darzi is to understand exactly how that happened and to bring about change.”

He said that started with the first step of 40,000 out of hours funding for NHS appointments every week to cut the waiting lists.

There are questions in the background how long can Labor keep suing the Conservatives and when the review will turn to their performance against NHS targets.

Mr. Keir seemed to accept this, saying: “We have to do tough reform measures.

“And as I say, I think only a Labor government can make the change our NHS needs, and we’re going to start on that journey.”

In a wide-ranging discussion in Downing Street’s Cabinet Room, Sir Keir also discussed the summer riots, the Grenfell disaster, public finances and his upcoming second visit to the White House.

Watch the full interview from 09:00 BST on Sunday on BBC One or BBC iPlayer.