Andy Burnham has warned that without rapid action the NHS could effectively collapse, as he pledged to use “whatever political capital I have” to finally fix the crumbling social care system in England. In his first full interview since becoming prime minister last week, Burnham told the BBC he would go as quickly as he could on reform but could not put a timetable on a new system. “If we don’t do it, the NHS will collapse under the weight of trying to care for people who’ve not really needed to end up in the NHS system,” he said.
The prime minister, whose father has Alzheimer’s and requires care, acknowledged that a completely new system would take time but insisted major changes were possible before the next election. “This costs the NHS billions of pounds, and we will never get the NHS back to good waiting time standards until we fix social care,” he added.
“Andy Burnham warns NHS could collapse without social care overhaul, vows to use political capital and slash welfare bill.”
Burnham also signalled a crackdown on welfare spending, vowing to “get really serious as a country” about reducing the amount spent on social security and other benefits. He said young people in their 20s on benefits had been “quite seriously let down” because support was not there for them when it should have been. “I don’t blame them. I don’t think the support has been there for them in the way that it should have been,” he said.