{"id":108433,"date":"2025-04-28T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=108433"},"modified":"2025-04-28T10:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T09:56:15","slug":"starmer-unveils-tech-plan-to-rescue-nhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/starmer-unveils-tech-plan-to-rescue-nhs\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer Unveils Tech Plan to Rescue NHS as Report Slams Emergency Care Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Labour\u2019s leader, Keir Starmer<\/strong>, has vowed to overhaul the NHS with expanded technology use, aiming to modernise the service and cut waiting times. His comments coincide with a critical report from the Health Foundation that paints a troubling picture of urgent care in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the local election campaign intensifies, Starmer\u2019s focus on the NHS is a key part of Labour\u2019s broader strategy to present itself as the party of public service renewal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claims of technological progress come just days after the Health Foundation warned that A&E performance<\/strong> remains significantly worse than it was pre-pandemic, raising questions about the long-term resilience of the health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starmer Promises Tech-Led Overhaul to End NHS “Dark Ages”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a campaign event in north-west England, Keir Starmer<\/a><\/strong> described the current state of the NHS as being “stuck in the dark ages”, pledging that a Labour government would end this stagnation through technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Labour\u2019s press release, Starmer\u2019s plan involves expanding the use of the NHS app<\/strong>, aiming to slash waiting lists, speed up patient access to treatments, and reduce pressure on healthcare workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC<\/a>)<\/strong> reported that 1.5 million appointments have been saved through the app\u2019s expanded functionality, allowing patients to manage bookings, view prescriptions, and access their GP records more easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, DHSC data shows that 87% of hospitals now allow patients to view appointment details via the app, up from 68% in July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starmer\u2019s message builds on long-standing efforts across political parties to digitise the NHS. Yet while improvements in digital services are evident, whether these measures constitute a full exit from the “dark ages” remains open to debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics have pointed out that previous government initiatives, including those under Matt Hancock<\/strong>, similarly promoted technological upgrades with mixed results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emergency Care Performance “Far Worse” Than Pre-Pandemic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the same day as Starmer\u2019s announcement, the Health Foundation<\/a><\/strong> released a report offering a sobering assessment of urgent and emergency care in England. According to the thinktank, this winter saw only 73% of A&E patients treated within four hours, far below the 95% constitutional target and in line with performance levels from the previous two winters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report highlights that the number of people facing 12-hour waits reached a record high, while ambulance handover delays<\/strong> and A&E diversions were worse than in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Health Foundation warned against attributing these operational issues solely to seasonal factors, arguing that the current situation reveals deeper structural weaknesses within the NHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings raise pressing questions for policymakers, particularly as the government prepares its Urgent and Emergency Care Plan<\/strong>. According to the Health Foundation, urgent reforms are necessary to address these systemic challenges and restore public confidence in emergency services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Labour\u2019s proposals offer a vision of a tech-empowered NHS, the ongoing crisis in A&E departments underscores the scale of the task ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keir Starmer is setting out a vision to pull the NHS into a new era with the help of expanded technology.
\nBut fresh warnings from a leading health thinktank highlight a stark contrast in A&E performance post-pandemic. While Labour talks of innovation, emergency care struggles to meet basic targets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":108435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108433"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108436,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108433\/revisions\/108436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}