SCIE responds to the Darzi Review

Although focused on the problems facing the NHS, the Darzi Review strengthens the case for acting on social care reform sooner rather than later. The Review lays bare the critical and long-standing issues facing both the NHS and the social care system, from service fragmentation and underfunding to inefficiencies and an ageing population. To resolve the NHS’s long waiting times and improve healthcare outcomes, we need to consider patient pathways across health and social care systems as a whole.

Lord Darzi’s analysis recognises that health and social care cannot function effectively in silos; they are inter-dependent. Enabling people of all ages, not just older people, to live independently, manage long-term conditions and relieve the pressure on finite NHS and emergency services are goals of both systems. Without a coordinated approach, people will continue to face under-met and unmet care needs, and family carers will remain overstretched.

Waiting for government action and investment on social care may prove to be a false economy. Social care must be treated as an equal partner to the NHS, and we must leverage opportunities now for upstream prevention, new models of community care and digital innovation. The NHS 10-year Plan has an important role to play in reimagining both our future national health system and social care.

This is a vital moment for the future of care in the UK—one we cannot afford to miss. We look forward to working closely with government, health and care partners as future plans for the NHS and a National Care System take shape.