Labour’s mission is to tackle biggest killers and end NHS waiting times crisis, pledges Starmer

The next Labour government will tackle the biggest killers, including suicide, and bring NHS waiting times back down to safe levels, Keir Starmer will pledge today (Monday). 

He will say that this will require fundamental and sustained change to the NHS - three ‘big shifts’ in approach:

• Analogue to digital
• Hospital to community
• Sickness to prevention

Keir Starmer will say his mission to build “an NHS fit for the future” represents “a plan for a future NHS that protects what is precious and embraces what is possible. 

“A mission that can lift the anxiety, the pain, the fear faced by millions of families across the country and replace it with the hope of a renewed NHS.”

Keir Starmer will set out bold ambitions to save lives being needlessly lost to the biggest killers, pledging to:

• Reverse the rising deaths from suicide, so they are declining within five years
• Reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within ten years
• Hit all NHS cancer targets, so patients are seen on time and diagnosed early

Suicide is the biggest cause of death in men in England under the age of 50, as well as for women who die within a year of giving birth. The rate of lives lost to suicide had been declining from the early 1980s to the late noughties, but since 2008 has been steadily rising again. Coroners statistics published earlier this month revealed that 2022 saw the highest number of suicides recorded in England and Wales.

Keir Starmer will say: “Suicide is the biggest killer of young lives in this country. The biggest killer. That statistic should haunt us. And the rate is going up. Our mission must be and will be: to get it down.”

The NHS is going through the biggest crisis in its history, with the lowest patient satisfaction and record numbers of people on waiting lists. In December, heart attack and stroke victims waited an hour and a half on average for an ambulance, the NHS hasn’t hit the 4-hour A&E waiting time target since 2015, and a record 7.3 million people are waiting for treatment.

Keir Starmer will say: “The next Labour government will deliver an NHS that is there when you need it. No backsliding, no excuses. We will meet these standards again. We will get the NHS back on its feet.”

By reforming the NHS and training the staff it needs, the party is promising to hit NHS targets within five years in order to:

• Ensure ambulances get to people in time to save lives 
• Get people seen by a GP when they need 
• Stop people facing dangerously long waits in A&E 
• Guarantee shorter waits for hospital appointments when people need specialist care

Keir Starmer will say: “We have a plan. We will fight for the NHS. We will fix the NHS. We will reform the NHS. Old values, new opportunities. Technology and science, convenience and control, renewal not decline. 

An NHS, not just off its knees but running confidently towards the future.”  

Ends

Notes to editors

Coroners statistics published earlier this month revealed that 2022 saw the highest number of suicides recorded in England and Wales.

Coroners statistics 2022: England and Wales - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

REACTION FROM MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS AND CAMPAIGNERS

Keir Starmer will set out bold ambitions to save lives being needlessly lost to the biggest killers, pledging to:

• Reverse the rising deaths from suicide, so they are declining within five years
• Reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within ten years
• Hit all NHS cancer targets, so patients are seen on time and diagnosed early

Suicide is the biggest cause of death in men in England under the age of 50, as well as for women who die within a year of giving birth. The rate of lives lost to suicide had been declining from the early 1980s to the late noughties, but since 2008 has been steadily rising again. Coroners statistics published earlier this month revealed that 2022 saw the highest number of suicides recorded in England and Wales.

Amy Hart, TV & Media Personality, said:

"It’s such a tragedy when someone loses their life to suicide.

"I am pleased Keir Starmer is focusing on preventing suicide, which is a shocking problem affecting far too many young people. Waiting times for mental health services are awful and risks tragic consequences.

"Labour is offering solutions to the problems I hear about from people all over the country. They are the change we need.”

Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 

“We support the Labour Party’s pledge to reverse rising rates of suicide. While most cases of completed suicide are linked to mental illness, at-risk patients are not being identified or offered the mental health treatment that could have prevented their death. 

“The focus on preventing mental illness is the right approach. Mental illness can in many cases be prevented with early intervention and by tackling root causes including inequality, racism and abuse. Schools, for example, provide a particularly important space for early intervention. This focus must be shared with treating and delivering care for all for those who need it. 

“A long-term whole of Government plan to improve outcomes for people with mental illness is urgently needed. Adults with severe mental illness are almost five times more likely to die prematurely than the rest of the population with two out of three deaths from preventable illnesses. 

“This will only be achieved by addressing the chronic workforce shortages that prevent people from accessing treatment when they need it. Mental health services are critically over stretched. We are 700 consultant psychiatrists short, and need to significantly expand the mental health workforce if the system is to deliver a sufficient level of care."

Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families, said:

“We welcome this commitment to a health policy which recognises the vital need to prioritise mental health care and prevention, particularly for young people. It is especially urgent that action is taken to reverse the worrying trend of the increased rates of suicide, especially among girls and young women. We stand ready to work alongside any government on a national suicide prevention plan for young people, which seeks to reduce the number of these tragic deaths.

“Anna Freud also supports the implementation of a strategic, cross-government effort that targets early intervention alongside treatment, ambitious in its scope and involving all those who impact on the lives of children and young people. Enhancing mental health provision within schools and for families at a community level is important in ensuring that help is available at the earliest opportunity, which we know reduces the risk of more serious mental health problems from developing and improves outcomes over the long-term.”

Brian Dow, Chief Executive, Mental Health UK, said:

'People with mental ill health need good quality care, quickly, close to home but the state of your finances, security of job and home all play a part in keeping people mentally well so cross government approach on mental health is a vital step in transforming our approach to a subject which now consistently comes up as a high priority for the public.'

Simon Blake, Chief Executive, Mental Health First Aid England, said:

'It has never been more important to have a determined focus on improving mental health and preventing suicide. Reducing the unacceptably high numbers of people that die by suicide requires strong political will and a multi-faceted approach which tackles the wider factors that influence mental health such as poverty, housing, discrimination including racism, education and employment.’