David Oliver: Does Darzi’s report move NHS recovery and reform further forward?

One week after Labour’s general election victory Wes Streeting, the new health and social care secretary, announced a rapid diagnostic review of the state of the NHS, to be led by Ara Darzi—a professor of surgery and a health minister in the last Labour government. Streeting simultaneously announced a working group to produce a 10 year plan for healthcare, reporting next spring.1 Darzi’s Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England was published on 12 September.2 His remit was to include social care or the wider health of the nation only “in so far as they impact on the NHS.” The report excludes detailed policy recommendations, although it does list seven key themes to inform the development of the 10 year plan. These include greater staff and patient engagement, better productivity in hospitals, “hardwiring financial flows” to support a shift from secondary to community care, and a “tilt towards technology.” It also emphasises the value of good NHS managers at the operational coalface, while criticising the overly complex patchwork of central agencies and regulators. Darzi concludes that the NHS is “in serious trouble” and that “the first step to rebuilding public trust and confidence” is to be “completely honest about where it stands.” His report …