The NHS must modernise or die, Wes Streeting says

The NHS must modernise or die, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting says.

In a speech to the Labour Party conference, he said the ageing population and rise in conditions such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes threatened to "bankrupt" the NHS.

Mr Streeting promised a Labour government would prioritise services in the community and mental health.

And that would form part of "fundamental and deep" reforms, including changes to social care.

Mr Streeting accused the Tories of creating a two-tier system, with people who could afford it now paying to go private for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements.

• NHS misses targets to tackle care backlogs

Abolishing non-dom tax status, which allows "non-domiciled individuals" - UK residents whose permanent home is outside the UK - to avoid paying UK tax on money they made outside the UK, would help pay for more operations, scans and appointments.

But Mr Streeting also promised more GPs and closer integration between the community and hospitals, creating what he called a neighbourhood health service.

Currently, the system was too focused on hospitals and dealing with late diagnosis and treatment, he said.

"Pouring ever increasing amounts of money into a system that isn't working is wasteful in every sense," he told delegates.

The emphasis on community services would see mental-health hubs set up, with every school provided with dedicated mental-health support for children.

Mr Streeting also said children needed protecting from industry, promising a ban on junk-food advertising - something the current government has also proposed but delayed introducing.

And he warned the vaping industry a Labour government would come down on it like a "tonne of bricks" over the marketing of e-cigarettes at children, with flavours such as rainbow burst.

'Healthiest generation'

Labour would also support Rishi Sunak's plan to increase the smoking age year by year until it was banned, Mr Streeting said. The prime minister has promised his MPs a free vote on the issue, so it may need Labour backing if it is to pass through Parliament.

Mr Streeting said Labour aimed to create the "healthiest generation that ever lived".

On social care, he said a Labour government would create a national care service - at the moment, access to support such as places in care homes and help at home is means-tested so only the poorest receive state funding.

The first step towards this would be a workforce plan for social care and a review of pay.

Joint walkout

Mr Streeting also urged the current government to return to the negotiating table to solve the pay dispute with doctors.

With no new strikes announced following last week's joint walkout last week by junior doctors and consultants, there was now a "window of opportunity", he said.

But he accused the prime minister of being more interested in exploiting the dispute than trying to solve it - Mr Sunak has blamed it for the failure to reduce the hospital waiting list.

Mr Streeting did not set out how a Labour government would resolve the dispute, however.

The government has given junior doctors an average rise of nearly 9%, and consultants 6%, in line with the independent pay review body's recommendations.

But the British Medical Association wants much more - as much as 35% for junior doctors.