‘Broken NHS’ message causes discomfort, health source tells BBC

There is growing unease in the NHS about the government’s “broken” messaging, the BBC has learned.

Senior sources in the health service told the BBC they believed some of the claims had gone too far – and could have caused patients to be delayed in seeking help and caused lasting damage to staff morale.

When Wes Streeting became the UK’s health secretary, he declared the NHS “broken” – a phrase that has been used by many others in government ever since.

That has been followed recently by claims cancer is a “death sentence” due to NHS failures, while maternity services are “an embarrassment” to the nation.

But the government said it was important to be “honest” about the scale of the challenge.

The revelation came before Mr Streeting addressed the Labor Party conference in Liverpool later.

The BBC has spoken to parents in the health service as well as officials at NHS England.

One hospital leader told the BBC: “We understand the politics of what the government is doing – they feel they have to establish in the public’s mind that a difficult legacy is being handed down.

“This is something that the Tories did effectively in 2010 and even back in 1979 during a period of discontent.

“But there’s a growing nervousness that if it goes on any longer it could affect patients and make it very difficult to raise staff morale. Hope is important.”

A similar view is shared privately in the UK NHS. Sources there said officials have made the government aware of their concerns about the messaging and are monitoring its impact on patients coming in for check-ups and appointments.

“We don’t see anything in the numbers to show that there’s an impact, but we’re keeping a close watch,” one of the sources said.

Another hospital leader said: “If the government is not careful, it will cause lasting damage. Yes, we know there are many problems, but there are also many treatments that are not recognized.

“We need to see change – cancer death sentences strike the wrong tone.”

The death penalty statement was made in a written response from the government to a story covered by the BBC last week about it variation in waiting time by different cancersand in the House of Commons by Streeting on September 12, day Lord Ara Darzi published his report to the state of the NHS.

In both cases, it was suggested Lord Darzi’s report found cancer was “more likely to be a death sentence for NHS patients than in any other country”.

Lord Darzi did not use the death sentence in his report, although he pointed out Britain has a higher cancer death rate. Lord Darzi has been approached for comment, but has yet to respond.

When asked to respond to the language, Cancer Research UK pointed the BBC to data showing that one in two people diagnosed with cancer now live for at least 10 years.

Meanwhile, the words “national shame” were used by Mr Streeting in response to reports from the Care Quality Commission report last week, which found two in three mother unit is not safe enough.

Sir Julian Hartley, from NHS Providers, which represents health leaders, said it was important to recognize what the NHS was doing and the efforts of staff who were working “flat”.

“There is a lot to be proud of despite the problems and difficulties,” he said.

Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust think-tank, which ran the NHS trust until last year, said people working in the NHS recognized the service was struggling and that there was “power” to problems being talked about openly.

But he added: “At the same time, language is important. The problem with the word ‘broken’ is that people can think that broken things should be thrown away.”

He said he feared it would affect patients, staff and young people considering a career in the health service.

“It is important that the government now focuses more on repair, rebuilding and hope, along with the ‘broken’ message,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care defended the approach taken.

“Patients and staff can see the NHS facing the biggest crisis in its history. They want the government to be honest about the scale of the challenge and get serious about fixing it.

“Wes said since the election when the NHS was broken, it wasn’t beaten.

“We will work with NHS staff to create a 10-year plan to transform the NHS together.”