RCR reacts to the 2024 UK general election result

We now know who will form the next government. Labour have won with a commanding majority. They have not been in government since 2010, have not won an election since 2005, and last moved from opposition to government in 1997. Wes Streeting is set to become the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Sir Keir Starmer will be our new Prime Minister. We would like to congratulate them on their victory.

In a strange coincidence, today is also the NHS’s 76th birthday. And unsurprisingly, health was one of the biggest topics in this election campaign. Labour’s majority clears the way for them to comfortably implement their healthcare policies. Amongst their manifesto pledges were commitments to:  

• Deliver 40,000 more appointments, scans, and operations each week to bring down waiting lists.  
• Double the number of CT and MRI scanners in the NHS to diagnose cancers earlier. 
• Implement the Long-Term Workforce Plan in full to address the NHS staffing crisis. 

Other commitments included stepping up the use of private sector capacity, introducing shared waiting lists, and reviving the bill to progressively ban the sale of tobacco and vapes to young people.  

Whilst we praise Labour’s ambition, we have questions about the deliverability of these policies and their potential to shift the dial on NHS pressures. You can read our full analyses of these policies by checking our earlier election blogs.  

But there’s no doubt that the new government faces enormous challenges. Changing demographics means that with a growing, ageing and unhealthier nation, the demand for healthcare is going in one direction: up. This is already borne out in waiting lists. Chronic workforce shortages, as we have shown in our 2023 radiology[1] and oncology census reports[2], are hampering efforts to tackle the care backlog have been years of under-investment in equipment and the NHS estate, as we have set out in our recent report on the state of diagnostic equipment in the NHS[3]. It is not surprising that the public is reporting record levels of dissatisfaction with the NHS [4]. This is a seriously challenging in-tray for a new government to receive.  

We are particularly concerned that, during the election period, most parties did not face up to the true scale of the financial challenge the NHS faces. Analyses of manifesto spending plans show shortfalls in the range of £20-30 bn between the amount of money pledged and the cost of implementing the Long-Term Workforce Plan[5]. We’ve argued that the LTWP needs to be fully funded, but perhaps more important is where this funding comes from. “Efficiency savings” or “productivity gains” alone won’t cut it – and could actually be counterproductive. 

Yet now is also a moment of huge opportunity. The new government has the chance to shift from crisis management to transformative change. Innovative new treatments such as advanced radiotherapy, immunotherapy, cancer genomics and more are becoming more widely available[6]. New technologies like artificial intelligence software, advanced scanning machines and virtual reality training equipment are coming to market[7]. If implemented safely and effectively, these have the potential to enable us to deliver more, higher quality care to our patients and meet the increased demand for care.  

A recent Insight Panel survey of RCR members showed that, whilst the three main UK parties all had healthcare policies which Fellows and members felt could be impactful, no party offered an overall package of measures seen as both beneficial to patients and feasible. Respondents were not confident that any party had put forth a plan equal to the challenges the NHS faces. It is up to the new government to surpass these expectations.  

The anniversary of the NHS is an auspicious date to welcome a new government. It marks the opening of a narrow window of opportunity for Labour to deliver a paradigm shift in NHS performance and patient outcomes. Now is the moment of maximum political capital and public goodwill. In the election, Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and their teams set out interesting and ambitious policies. Now as the new government, they must go further and faster.  

It is possible to return the NHS to the high performance and patient satisfaction levels seen in the past. It is possible to transform how we deliver healthcare to meet the demographic and public health challenges coming down the tracks. It is possible, as Prime Minister Starmer said in his speech today in front of Number 10, to get “our NHS back on its feet, facing the future”.  

We know this is possible because the RCR and other leading healthcare voices have the answers. Our policy reports on workforce, equipment capacity, AI, and specialised services provide clear steps the next government could take to tackle the biggest challenges facing clinical radiology and clinical oncology.  

We are confident that, with bold policymaking and firm will, these challenges can be overcome. The expertise, dedication, and passion of RCR members will be invaluable. We look forward to sharing your expertise and determination with Labour in government, as we did during when they were in opposition. Together we can work to improve NHS working conditions, service delivery, and ultimately patient outcomes. 

It's with this that we mark both the arrival of a new government and another year of tireless service from the NHS: clear acknowledgement of the difficulties we face, but also sincere confidence that a better future is possible.  

Dr Katharine Halliday 

President, The Royal College of Radiologists