Wes Streeting vowed to fix broken' NHS but critics say he failed to deliver

"They portrayed a dynamic health secretary who was clearing up the mess he inherited in the NHS, pushing ahead with radical changes and making progress on what matters most to patients accessing care when they need it. Having initially declared the NHS broken by the Conservatives it is six months since he first declared that the health service was now, on his watch, on the road to recovery a claim he has made regularly since."

"The NHS's target for reducing patients' waits for planned hospital treatment in England? Surpassed the biggest monthly drop outside of Covid since 2008 We are on track to achieve the fastest improvement in NHS waiting times in history. Ambulance response times for strokes and heart attacks? Now the fastest in five years. A&E waiting times? Improving, with four-hour waiting figures also the best in five years."

"There was no mention of the other NHS waiting times that remain miles off-target, notably for urgent cancer treatment, or the many reviews he commissioned into problems in the NHS that have been hiding in plain sight for years including maternity care and demand for mental health care not to mention yet another inquiry into how to fix social care, which will not report until 2028. All difficult cans being kicked down the road, and exercises in buying time, critics said."

"After 22 months, we were no wiser as to what Streeting thought or planned to do about any of these well-known and urgent challenges. Sarah Woolnough, the chief executive of the King's Fund thinktank, said: Streeting's been full of energy a passionate health secretary in a hurry. I can't move for the pol"

Wes Streeting’s time in office featured frequent media interviews, editorials, and Department of Health and Social Care press releases. The portrayal emphasized clearing inherited problems in the NHS, pursuing radical changes, and making progress on patient access to care. Claims of recovery were repeated, including in a resignation letter to Keir Starmer. Reported improvements included planned hospital treatment waiting times, ambulance response times for strokes and heart attacks, and A&E waiting times, with several measures described as the best in years. Critics said the reflection was selective, omitting urgent cancer waiting times, persistent off-target waiting categories, and multiple reviews into maternity care, mental health demand, and social care solutions delayed until 2028.

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