30 April 2007
Tony Blair looked back on 10 years of progress in the NHS today, insisting that high quality health care was "no longer the preserve of the lucky or the well-connected".
He pointed out that waiting lists had been slashed, with a huge investment in staff, and 154 new hospitals open or planned.
The debate over the service had now moved on from one about its very survival as a tax-funded universal healthcare care, the PM told an audience of health experts and professionals at the King’s Fund in London.
Instead, the issues of today are about quality, excellence and value for money.
To coincide with the Mr Blair’s speech, four Department of Health Czars published reports covering cardiac care, cancer treatment, emergency services and mental health.
These reports highlight the reforms and measures which were introduced in the early phase of the government and have led to improved services.
Highlights include a maximum waiting time of four hours for every patient going through A & E; a 40 per cent reduction in heart disease; 99 per cent of patients with suspected cancer being seen within a fortnight; and the number of suicides at their lowest since records began.
The PM told the King’s Fund:
"What I think is undeniable is this, that in terms of waiting which was the problem in 1997 there have been real and transformative reductions and by the end of next year, if we succeed, then the concept of waiting as traditionally addressed in the Health Service will have gone."
Later in the day the PM chatted to staff during a visit to University College Hospital in London [pictured].
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