Hospital chief Nick Hulme calls for cross-party review into NHS after survey

A hospital chief has called for a cross-party review into how the performance of the NHS can be improved.

Nick Hulme, who leads hospitals in Essex and Suffolk, said there was a "huge amount" of work needed to tackle wait times experienced by patients.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Parliament should put aside its political differences to secure the future of the health service.

It followed a survey revealing just 24% of people were satisfied with the NHS.

The British Social Attitudes survey showed there had been a drop from the 2010 high of 70% satisfaction, with waiting times and staff shortages the biggest concerns.

Mr Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said the "overwhelming" care experience his patients had was good.

But the trust, which runs hospitals in Colchester, Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea and Harwich, was aware of concerns about waiting times, its boss said.

He called for a cross-party review to help fix issues seen on a national scale.

"The NHS was designed in 1948 when the life expectancy was 15 or 20 years less than it was now," Mr Hulme said.

"It wasn't designed to look after long-term conditions, it wasn't designed to look after the number of frail elderly patients that we're now seeing.

"We do need a cross-party review. Remove the politics from the NHS, allow both sides - all political parties - to come together to look at what is the future of the NHS."

Mr Hulme said advances in technology and demographic changes should be factored in to any review.

"[We need] a review of everything we do in health and social care to make sure we're fit for purpose going forward," he added.

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