Wes Streeting has told the NHS it must focus on driving economic growth and “end the begging bowl culture” of constantly demanding more cash.
The new health secretary also used his first meeting with junior doctors’ leaders on Tuesday to “hit the reset button” on talks, with both sides emerging optimistic about progress.
Setting out his priorities after entering government last week, Streeting said he had told the health service it was an “economic growth department” as he called for a “big shift of mindset” from its staff. He pledged “tough love” for the NHS as he likened Labour to Nixon going to China in being able to implement radical reform.
“Our love for the NHS is not in doubt. But sometimes, if you love someone, you have to force them to change,” he told a conference organised by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
In his first public event as health secretary, Streeting set out plans to put the NHS in the service of Sir Keir Starmer’s mission to turbocharge economic growth. He said he had told the Department of Health and the NHS: “This is no longer simply a public services department, this is an economic growth department. The health of the nation and the health of the economy are inextricably linked.”
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Streeting cited the 2.8 million people off work due to long-term sickness, saying the government wanted to get people back to work “to contribute more and drive economic growth”.
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He also set out an ambition to “marry our health and social care system, with the incredible life sciences and med tech ecosystem we have in this country”, arguing that this could make Britain a world leader in new treatments.
With more than a million NHS staff around the country, Streeting said that hospitals and clinics could be “engines of economic growth, giving opportunities in training and work to local people”.
During the election campaign Streeting insisted that the NHS needed to reform as it struggles to treat more patients despite record levels of funding and staff. He said these “tough messages” would not change in opposition.
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“I want to end the begging bowl culture, where the health secretary only ever goes to the Treasury to ask for more money. I want to deliver the Treasury billions of pounds of economic growth,” he said. “The starting point has got to be: we will help you achieve your mission for growth.”
Reassuring staff that he did not want to reorganise structures or replace Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, Streeting said this kind of reform would be a “waste of time”. Instead he argued that reform must mean the NHS prioritising preventive treatment and embracing technology.
Arguing that this was possible, he said only a Labour government could do it without being accused of trying to undermine a system that was free at the point of use. “Just as only Nixon could go to China, only Labour reform the National Health Service,” he said.
Streeting also used his first meeting with the British Medical Association’s junior doctors’ committee to draw a line under 18 months of acrimonious relations with the previous government. Union leaders said they were encouraged that Streeting had listened to their argument that talks with the Conservatives had failed because of a lack of a clear mandate to give them a pay rise.
Vivek Trevedi, co-chair of the junior doctors’ committee, said Streeting’s attitude “does suggest that we will be able to reach resolution”. However, pay figures were not discussed during introductory talks, with detailed negotiations planned in the coming weeks.
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Streeting said he was “optimistic” that a deal could be reached, but added: “It’s not going to be easy. This government has inherited the worst set of economic circumstances since the Second World War. But both sides have shown willingness to negotiate and we are determined to do the hard work required to find a way through.”
