The current state of patient safety in the NHS: the Darzi Report

To those of us living in England, the NHS is central to our lives, and we will all need access to it at some time. It is therefore worrying when we read in the recently published report from Lord Darzi (2024a) that the NHS is in crisis and public satisfaction with it stands at an all-time low. There is a caveat of sorts that, ‘despite the challenges, the NHS vital signs remain strong’ (Darzi, 2024a:11) – this sounds a note of optimism, but others may still see the situation as dire.

The fact that the NHS is in serious trouble should come as no surprise as the media frequently highlight the latest NHS crisis – the NHS plays such an important role in our daily lives, and something always seems to be happening to it. The Darzi report catalogues many well-documented problems that have dogged the NHS for a long time, and have been discussed in past reports by many NHS stakeholders.