NHS chief says service faces ‘enormous challenges’ as experts warn it ‘may not reach 100th anniversary’

Published

2 years ago

July 6, 2023

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The National Health Service faces a future of “enormous challenges”, its chief executive has warned on its 75th birthday.

In a speech to mark the anniversary of its creation, Amanda Pritchard, the head of the NHS in England, described the publicly-funded service as a “cornerstone of national life” in Britain.

But she said its staff were battling a combination of COVID backlogs and record demand for services – challenges that workers were ready to meet “head on”.

The health chief also said the service would “continue to embrace” technology – something that could help tackle some of the challenges the NHS faced.

It comes as experts warned that the NHS – created in July 1948 – may not reach its 100th birthday without more resources and fundamental reforms.

Politics live: Sunak under fire for missing PMQs again

The warning, by three leading think-tanks – the King’s Fund, the Health Foundation and the Nuffield Trust – blamed short-term policymaking and a decade of underinvestment, which they said had left the NHS in a “critical condition”.

Separately, NHS Providers – which represents hospital trusts – warned of “enormous pressures” amid a record rise in demand for care and “the biggest financial squeeze in its history”.

Speaking during a special anniversary ceremony at Westminster Abbey – attended by dignitaries including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – Ms Pritchard said: “Since the day it was founded, the NHS has continually innovated and adapted to meet the changing needs of our patients and communities.

“Recent years have brought a once-in-a-century global health emergency and unprecedented challenges. But throughout, our staff, volunteers and partners up and down the country have continued to do what they do best – looking after patients and their loved ones.

“In doing so they provided a beacon of hope for a nation during dark and uncertain times. It is therefore little wonder that the NHS remains the institution that makes our nation most proud to be British – a cornerstone of national life and our shared identity.”

Speaking to journalists at the event, she also addressed the “enormous challenges” faced by staff, including “recovering services, addressing COVID backlogs that inevitably built up over the pandemic and dealing with record demand for services”.

“This milestone 75th anniversary is an opportunity for us to reflect on their hard work and our achievements but to look to the future of the health service too,” she added.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the health service in England, also said that staff were meeting these new challenges “head on”.

Waiting lists a ‘major issue’

In an interview with Sky News, Health Secretary Steve Barclay refused to accept that Conservative spending cuts have played a role in problems faced by the health service – blaming an ageing population, rising costs and the pandemic instead.

But Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, told Sky News: “It is important to remember that it wasn’t just the pandemic.

“From 2010 to 2019, the NHS spent 18% less than 14 other European countries, so in terms of investment in the NHS, and indeed social care – those are critical issues to resolve.”

He said the NHS is the “most pressurised” it has been in his 30-year career, with its challenges including a rise in demand for emergency care, a lack of reform in social care and a staffing crisis.

The size of the waiting list – currently a record 7.4 million people in England – is also a “major issue”, he said.

While measures have been announced to address some of the problems, such as the recently unveiled long-term workforce plan, Sir Julian said “that is against the backdrop of enormous pressures of industrial action, of the biggest financial squeeze the NHS has seen for some time”.

The warning came after health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News that the record-high waiting list “will go up before it comes down”, because the NHS is “offering more procedures”.

She could not detail how much she expects the list to rise by, but insisted that the time between referral and treatment is falling.

Ms Caulfield said that the NHS will be “thriving” in 25 years’ time, despite assessments from think-tanks that its future hangs in the balance.

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Lifting sanctions on Putin for Trump meeting is a massive victory for Moscow

Published

10 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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Lifting sanctions on Putin for Trump meeting is a massive victory for Moscow

The location of Alaska is unexpected.

Although close to Russia geographically – less than three miles away at the narrowest point – it’s a very long way from neutral ground.

The expectation was they would meet somewhere in the middle. Saudi Arabia perhaps, or the United Arab Emirates. But no, Vladimir Putin will be travelling to Donald Trump’s backyard.

Follow latest: Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not give up land

It’ll be the first time the Russian president has visited the US since September 2015, when he spoke at the UN General Assembly. Barack Obama was in the White House. How times have changed a decade on.

The US is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so there’s no threat of arrest for Vladimir Putin.

But to allow his visit to happen, the US Treasury Department will presumably have to lift sanctions on the Kremlin leader, as it did when his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to Washington in April.

And I think that points to one reason why Putin would agree to a summit in Alaska.

Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, as Trump had threatened in recent days, the US would be removing one. Even if only temporary, it would be hugely symbolic and a massive victory for Moscow.

The American leader might think he owns the optics – the peace-making president ordering a belligerent aggressor to travel to his home turf – but the visuals more than work for Putin too.

Shunned by the West since his invasion, this would signal an emphatic end to his international isolation.

Donald Trump has said a ceasefire deal is close. The details are still unclear but there are reports it could involve Ukraine surrendering territory, something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always adamantly opposed.

Either way, Putin will have what he wants – the chance to carve up his neighbour without Kyiv being at the table.

And that’s another reason why Putin would agree to a summit, regardless of location. Because it represents a real possibility of achieving his goals.

It’s not just about territory for Russia. It also wants permanent neutrality for Ukraine and limits to its armed forces – part of a geopolitical strategy to prevent NATO expansion.

In recent months, despite building US pressure, Moscow has shown no intention of stopping the war until those demands are met.

It may be that Vladimir Putin thinks a summit with Donald Trump offers the best chance of securing them.

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It’s been four years since a US president met Putin – and Trump will have a lot of ice to break

Published

13 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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It's been four years since a US president met Putin - and Trump will have a lot of ice to break

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet where their countries brush shoulders.

But why Alaska and why now?

A US-Russia summit in Alaska is geography as metaphor and message.

Alaska physically bridges both countries across the polar expanse.

Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates

Choosing this location signals strategic parity – the US and Russian leaders face to face in a place where their interests literally meet.

Alaska has surged in geopolitical importance due to its untapped fossil fuels.

Trump has aggressively pushed for more control in the Arctic, plans for Greenland and oil access.

Holding talks there centres the conversation where global energy and territorial stakes are high, and the US president thrives on spectacle.

A dramatic summit in the rugged frontier of Alaska plays into his flair for the theatrical.

It is brand Trump – a stage that frames him as bold, unorthodox and in command.

It was 2021 when a US president last came face-to-face with a Russian president.

The leaders of the two countries haven’t met since Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Trump is in touch with all sides – Russia, Ukraine and European leaders – and says they all, including Putin, want “to see peace”.

He’s even talking up the potential shape of any deal and how it might involve the “swapping of territory”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted he will not concede territory annexed by Russia.

Moscow has sent the White House a list of demands in return for a ceasefire.

Trump is attempting to secure buy-in from Zelenskyy and other European leaders.

He styles himself as “peacemaker-in-chief” and claims credit for ending six wars since he returned to office 200 days ago.

There’s much ice to break if he’s to secure a coveted seventh one in Alaska.

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UK joins four countries in condemning Israel’s plan for new operation in Gaza

Published

13 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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UK joins four countries in condemning Israel's plan for new operation in Gaza

The UK and four allies have criticised Israel’s decision to launch a new large-scale military operation in Gaza – warning it will “aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the territory.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand said in a joint statement that the offensive will “endanger the lives of hostages” and “risk violating international humanitarian law”.

It comes a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved an operation to take military control of Gaza City – and concluded a full takeover of the enclave is required to end the conflict.

It marks another escalation in the war in Gaza, sparked by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.

In their joint statement, the UK and its allies said they “strongly reject” the decision, adding: “It will endanger the lives of the hostages and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.

“The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law. Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.”

The countries also called for a permanent ceasefire as “the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza”.

It comes as Sky News analysis has found that airdrops of aid are making little difference to Gaza’s hunger crisis, and pose serious risks to the population – with a father-of-two killed by a falling package.

Meanwhile, France, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations all criticised Israel’s plan for a full occupation of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his disappointment” with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s in phone call on Friday after Berlin decided it would stop selling arms to Israel.

In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office added: “Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.”

US ambassador hits out at Starmer

Earlier on Friday, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he said Israel’s decision to “escalate its offensive” in Gaza is “wrong”.

Mr Huckabee wrote on X: “So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved? Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!”

In another post around an hour later Mr Huckabee wrote: “How much food has Starmer and the UK sent to Gaza?

“@IsraeliPM has already sent 2 MILLION TONS into Gaza & none of it even getting to hostages.”

Sir Keir has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.

The UK and its allies criticised Israel as US President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met at Chevening House in Kent on Friday.

Mr Vance described a “disagreement” about how the US and UK could achieve their “common objectives” in the Middle East, and said the Trump administration had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state”.

He said: “I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.”

Mr Vance added: “There’s a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it’s a tough situation.”

The UN Security Council will meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said earlier on Friday that a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel’s plans.