10 Radical Ways to Fix the NHS

Above is the 40 minute version. If you would like to watch the 5 minute version, click the video below.

Today, I’m sharing 10 radical ways to fix the NHS while staying true to its founding principle: healthcare free at the point of service, comprehensive, universal, and based on clinical need. Let’s dive in.

1. A Digital Revolution Imagine booking your GP appointment, accessing test results, or chatting with a nurse—all through an intuitive NHS app. It’s time to modernize, cut paperwork, and make our health system as seamless as online banking. So, why hasn’t this happened yet? Leadership inertia and outdated systems hold us back. To change this, we need visionary leaders who prioritize innovation and a national push to invest in digital infrastructure.

2. Bring Back Community Care Hubs Big hospitals are overwhelmed. What if we invested in local care hubs—one-stop shops for minor injuries, mental health support, and chronic condition management? These hubs would relieve pressure on A&E while improving access to care right in your neighborhood. The reason this hasn’t been implemented? Bureaucratic red tape and a lack of political will to decentralize services. We need grassroots pressure on policymakers to fund and prioritize community care.

3. Pay NHS Staff What They Deserve Here’s the truth: without fair pay, we lose nurses, doctors, and paramedics. Let’s make NHS careers the most attractive in Europe with competitive salaries and benefits. Why isn’t this happening already? Years of austerity and budget cuts. To fix this, we must demand that governments view NHS staff as an investment, not an expense.

4. Nationalise Big Pharma Contracts Why let pharmaceutical giants drain our budget? By creating a publicly owned UK pharmaceutical manufacturer, we can produce essential drugs at cost and reinvest savings into patient care. So, what’s the holdup? Corporate lobbying and political hesitation to challenge powerful industries. To create change, public pressure and cross-party support will be essential.

5. 24/7 Thrombectomy Access for Stroke Patients Stroke care is one of the NHS’s greatest weaknesses. Only 25% of eligible patients get thrombectomies. Expanding 24/7 access nationwide could save thousands of lives annually. Why isn’t this a reality? A lack of funding and specialist training programs. We need a national strategy to expand resources and train more specialists.

6. Slash Bureaucracy, Empower Frontline Staff For every extra manager, how many nurses could we hire? By cutting bureaucracy and giving frontline staff more decision-making power, we can ensure resources go where they’re needed most: patient care. But the current system is entrenched in top-heavy management structures. Change starts with legislative reforms to streamline operations and empower clinicians.

7. Tax Sugar, Not Health Obesity costs the NHS billions annually. A hefty tax on sugary drinks and junk food could fund prevention programs and incentivize healthier choices. It worked for smoking—why not food? The answer: industry lobbying and fear of public backlash. The key is a public awareness campaign that highlights the health and economic benefits of this tax.

8. Reinvent Medical Training Let’s shake up how we train doctors and nurses. Free tuition for medical students in exchange for five years of NHS service. It’s a win-win: we reduce student debt and secure future staff. What’s stopping us? Budget constraints and a reluctance to overhaul outdated training systems. A unified push from universities, medical boards, and the public can make this a reality.

9. A National Volunteer Corps The NHS belongs to all of us. Let’s create a volunteer program where everyday people can assist with non-medical tasks: delivering meals, helping patients navigate hospitals, or simply providing companionship. A community-powered NHS is a stronger NHS. So why hasn’t this been done? A lack of coordination and public engagement. By raising awareness and creating easy pathways to volunteer, we can mobilize communities nationwide.

10. End the Privatisation Loophole Too often, NHS money flows to private providers. We need to end the outsourcing culture and bring services back in-house. Public money should stay in the public sector, where it belongs. What’s blocking this? Ideological commitments to privatization and resistance from private stakeholders. To overcome this, we need strong leadership that puts patients before profits.

OK, most of the 10 radical ways shown above are not that radical. Of course, ending privatisation loopholes does not meet ending privatisation - it means ensuring privatisation and the symbiosis between the private and public sector, works. Though it also means ensuring that if contracts are failing, they are ended. It means ensuring private corporations add value above and beyond what could be provided directly, acording to their agreed contracts. In the case of nationalising big pharmaceutical companies contracts, there are precedents, in India and Brazil. There would be legal and technical challenges in some areas - though with generic drugs for example, nationally owned manaufacturing is a compelling idea.

On the LetsFIXtheNHS website and channel we will further explore these 10 radical ways to FIX the NHS and many more. Use the comment section to let us know what you think!