Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

NHS won't survive unless we start making fundamental reform: Sajid Javid

Former health secretary suggested the UK should emulate Germany and France which run hybrid health systems.

NHS won't survive unless we start making fundamental reform: Sajid Javid

Former health secretary Sajid Javid has called for an “honest debate” on funding the NHS to make the health organisation sustainable for the future.

He did not specify how it should be funded but suggested the UK should emulate Germany and France which run hybrid health systems.

In Germany, employees pay seven per cent of their pre-tax salaries for their health insurance scheme with their employers making matching contributions. The treatment of the poorest is funded by the government.

The French health system runs on mandatory contributions from employees and employers and the self-employed. While the central government also funds the system, users have to pay a small part of the cost of their medical treatment.

Javid, who served as the health secretary for more than a year till he resigned from the Boris Johnson government in July, said the publicly funded NHS cannot survive for long without fundamental reforms.

Referring to debates in Scotland on charging the rich for some of the care they receive, he told Sky News, “I actually welcome having that kind of discussion because we need to have this honest debate as a country.”

“I don’t think the NHS will survive many more years… unless we start making fundamental reform,” Javid, who recently announced he would not contest the next general election, said.

“We cannot pretend that the current system is providing good healthcare for people when "everyone is queueing for everything,” he said.

According to him, there have been a lot of changes since the NHS was set up seven decades ago and the model adopted at the time does not work going forward.

The Conservative politician said, “people are living longer, therefore needing more health care, and social care for that matter, new medicines. And everyone rightly wants to get access to new medicines and treatments and also the changing burden of disease.”

"You know, we have a lot more obese people today, we have a lot more problems with addiction," Javid, who previously worked as home secretary and chancellor of the exchequer said.

“We cannot pretend that the current system is providing good healthcare for people when "everyone is queueing for everything,” he said.

More For You

Streeting: Health deal signals new era in UK-India ties

Foreign Office minister Catherine West, health secretary Wes Streeting and equalities minister Seema Malhotra during the Holi Reception in London.

Streeting: Health deal signals new era in UK-India ties

THE recent health and life sciences agreement between the UK and India will strengthen cooperation on healthcare innovation and security in both countries, health secretary Wes Streeting said.

Speaking at the Holi reception organised by the India All-Party Parliamentary Group and the 1928 Institute in London on Monday (24), he added that the contribution of British Indians has been pivotal in the growth of the NHS since its inception in 1948, and a robust partnership between the two nations will ensure we have a healthcare provider 'fit for the future'.

Keep ReadingShow less
british-steel-iStock

An aerial view of Steel Plant Industry in Scunthorpe. (Photo: iStock)

British Steel to shut blast furnaces, up to 2,700 jobs at risk

BRITISH STEEL, owned by Chinese group Jingye, confirmed on Thursday that it will shut down its blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in England, attributing the decision to market challenges, tariffs, and rising environmental costs.

The closures, first proposed in late 2023, could lead to the loss of up to 2,700 jobs at the company’s main UK site in Scunthorpe, northern England, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Keep ReadingShow less
Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil has garnered significant media attention with its direct action protests

Getty Images

Just Stop Oil ends direct action campaign after major policy success

The environmental activist group Just Stop Oil has announced an end to its disruptive direct action protests, declaring a significant victory in its campaign to halt new oil and gas developments. In a statement released by the organisation, the group confirmed it had successfully influenced government policy to abandon new fossil fuel exploration, marking a major turning point in the movement’s goals.

“Just Stop Oil's initial demand to end new oil and gas is now government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history,” the group’s statement read. It went on to claim responsibility for having kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground, while legal victories in the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.

Keep ReadingShow less
submarine-crash-reuters

People walk next to an ambulance in front of the hospital where the bodies of foreigners who were killed when a tourist submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, and whose nationalities are still unknown, are kept. (Photo: Reuters)

Six foreign tourists die after submarine sinks off Egypt’s Red Sea coast

SIX tourists died on Thursday when a submarine carrying visitors sank near Hurghada, a resort city on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, state media reported.

According to the state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper, all the deceased were foreigners. The report also said 19 others were injured in the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less
EU Warns Citizens to Stockpile Essentials Amid War Concerns

Not all EU countries currently have the same level of preparedness

Getty Images

European Union urges citizens to stockpile food and supplies amid risk of war

The European Union (EU) has advised its 450 million citizens to stockpile essential items, including food and water, to prepare for potential emergencies. This call to action is part of a broader strategy to improve disaster preparedness across the 27-nation bloc, as it faces increasing risks from war, cyberattacks, climate change, and public health crises.

The EU’s recommendation comes in light of recent global developments that have raised concerns about security and stability. Citizens are encouraged to have enough food, water, medicine, and other essential supplies to last at least 72 hours during a crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less