Responding to a speech by the Prime Minister in response to the publication of Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS and the monthly performance statistics by NHS England, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Sir Julian Hartley said:

"The NHS is down but not out.

"The sheer scale of the challenge facing trust leaders and their teams as they strive to get the health service back on track is plain for all to see.

"The NHS has had its busiest ever summer and is fast heading into what is expected to be another challenging winter with record levels of demand on A&E departments, patients still waiting far too long for care and persistent pressure on community, mental health and ambulance services.

"Due to hard work by frontline NHS staff, we are seeing much-needed progress with faster ambulance response times, fewer long waits for treatment and record numbers of patients receiving diagnostic tests, cancer referrals and treatments.

"But as the Prime Minister said today, we can’t go on like this. To build an NHS fit for the future, the NHS needs to work differently and go further and faster to improve care for patients.

"With the 10-year plan for the NHS on the horizon, trust leaders are ready and willing to work with the government to get to grips with the challenges facing the health and social care.

"Lord Darzi’s prescription for reforming the health service – by creating a digital NHS, focusing on prevention and public health, and ensuring patients are cared for closer to home- is a big step in the right direction. This must go hand in hand with sustainable funding and investment, an end to chronic workforce shortages and more capital investment to boost productivity and meet growing demand."