The Health Secretary has announced that an independent inquiry will be launched into the performance of the NHS.
Wes Streeting wrote in the Sun that the inquiry would aim to “diagnose the problem” so the government can “write the prescription”.
Streeting said: “It is clear to anyone who works in or uses the NHS that it is broken. Unlike the previous government, we are not looking for excuses. I am certainly not going to blame NHS staff, who are destroying themselves for their patients.
“This government will be honest about the challenges we face and will get serious about solving them.”
Streeting said the inquiry would be led by former Health Minister Lord Ara Darzi, whom he has asked to “tell the hard truth”.
Streeting said: “Honesty is the best policy and this report will give patients, staff and me a full and honest picture of the state of the NHS, with all its failings.
“The NHS has been devastated. This inquiry will be the survey before we make plans to rebuild it so it can be there for all of us when we need it again.”
His comments come after a new report found that progress in tackling waiting times in the NHS has “stagnated” and that “long waiting times remain endemic in the NHS”.
According to experts at the Nuffield Trust, Labour in England has inherited a waiting list for pre-planned hospital treatment of around 7.5 million people – a 66% increase since the start of the pandemic.
While there has been progress in some areas, such as cataract surgery, wait times for some major surgeries are taking longer to return to pre-Covid levels, experts said.
The NHS in England is to publish its latest waiting time data – the first since the new government took office.