Giving evidence on his independent report, which was published in September, Lord Darzi said ‘the NHS is in crisis'.

‘The NHS stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges but also immense opportunities to rebuild, innovate and thrive,' Lord Darzi said.

The Lords peer said the most ‘alarming' element of his investigation was the overall decline in the nation's health with life expectancy having stalled since 2010 and the nation facing a ‘heavier burden of long-term illnesses'.

Lord Darzi said the social determinants of health such as poor housing incomes and instability had also worsened, placing additional pressure on already overstretched services.

He also listed how the NHS was falling short in critical areas with a ‘severe shortage of peers in deprived areas,' over a million people waiting for community services and mental health delays disproportionately affecting children and young people.

A&E departments are also overwhelmed Lord Darzi said, with just 60% of patients seen within four hours, down from 94% in 2020, and thousands awaiting cancer appointments.

Systemic issues

Lord Darzi said systemic issues lay beneath the performance gaps in the NHS, adding: ‘Too much funding is directed to hospitals at the expense of primary and community care.'

Speaking as a hospital doctor, Lord Darzi said ‘productivity gains have not matched staffing increases'.

He added years of underfunding had left ‘outdated equipment, crumbling buildings and insufficient digital modernisation'.

Lord Darzi also highlighted ‘declining patient satisfaction' and ‘low staff morale' as a major concern as well as ‘complex management structures, excessive oversight made worse by the 2012 Health and Social Care Act.

The Government advisor said the reform and seven recommendations offered by his report offered a ‘a roadmap for recovery'.

Lord Darzi's evidence is part of the inquiry launched by the newly formed Health and Social Care Committee chaired by Lib Dem MP Layla Moran.

In its first evidence session of the new Parliament, the committee took evidence from Lord Darzi on the issues of access and quality of NHS services and NHS productivity, and will also examine the issues of preventative healthcare, health inequalities, NHS structural reform and social care.