He said: “Lord Darzi has reflected the ‘critical condition’ of our NHS – and many of us will recognise the problems. The deteriorating health of the nation, austerity, lack of capital investment, the Covid-19 pandemic, and underfunding of community services: all had a detrimental impact on vital services and on people. As our College – and others – have underlined for many years, these challenges require urgent attention.
“So too will people recognise the strong message of hope, that our NHS’s ‘vital signs are strong’. We endorse his view that wider reform will take time, effort and investment, and that the NHS founding principles are still essential and relevant today.
“At the heart of our NHS is its people, and we welcome Lord Darzi’s recognition of ‘the extraordinary depth of clinical talent’, and staff’s ‘shared passion and determination to make the NHS better for our patients.’ It is encouraging to see recommendations for both increased staff and patient engagement to enable NHS recovery.
“As a College, we stand ready to reflect the voices of NHS staff around the UK to help shape the changes that must now come to support the future of healthcare.
“The challenges are very significant and it will take enormous efforts from everyone – government and policy makers, NHS leaders, staff and communities. But it is not too late to safeguard and improve the future of our health service, as Lord Darzi has reflected: “The NHS has been through very difficult times in the past and has emerged stronger.”