Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s speech at the Labour Party Conference reiterated many of the key points that he, the Prime Minister, and the Labour government have made regarding health and social care since the general election.

Beginning by paying tribute to NHS workers, particularly their response to the recent attacks in Southport, he expressed a deep sense of responsibility towards the NHS. He was quick to acknowledging its current failures, especially regarding cancer care and the strain caused by a “two-tier” system, which he pledged to end. This was in reference to the growing gap between the speed of access and technological innovation between NHS and private hospitals, and the need for the NHS to catch-up so that everyone can access high quality services, not just those with the personal finances to do so.

Streeting highlighted stark statistics, such as 100,000 toddlers and babies left waiting in A&E last year, and the growing disparity between the UK’s cancer outcomes and other countries. He placed the blame squarely on 14 years of Conservative government, arguing that their neglect has led only to broken promises and crisis in our health service.

Streeting’s central theme was reform, rather than funding – a line he has doubled down on in interviews before and after the speech, despite criticism from some medical representative bodies. He rejected the idea of introducing charges for NHS services and committed to keeping the NHS free at the point of use, though later reaffirming his commitment to leveraging additional capacity in the private sector to help cut waiting lists. He argued that recovery would only be possible through meaningful reform, warning that without preventive action, the NHS would be overwhelmed. The repetition of his earlier call of “reform or die” emphasised the urgency of addressing inefficiencies within the system.

He outlined Labour’s immediate actions since coming into power, including addressing GP shortages and banning junk food ads targeting children. He proudly announced a deal with junior doctors to end strikes, which had caused the cancellation of 1.5 million appointments. However, this comes at a time when the Royal College of Nursing rejected the government’s 5.5% pay offer earlier this week, indicating the persistence of industrial discontent within the system.

The Health Secretary also pledged to roll out reforms across secondary care aimed at reducing waiting times and enabling surgeons to see more patients. He announced that the first 20 hospitals targeted will be in those areas with the highest number of people off sick. This is the first time this detail has been shared and is reflective of the Government’s continued focus on creating a health service that supports people back into work and boosts the economy.

Streeting also acknowledged the interconnectedness of healthcare and social care, echoing Sir Keir Starmer’s commitment to improving conditions for social care professionals. He re-announced a new deal for care workers, including better pay and conditions, calling it the first step toward a National Care Service. Though the inclusion of social care as a principal point of reform was met with applause across the room, the sector still awaits real detail on what any proposed transformation would look like in practice and, crucially, how it will be funded.

He concluded by expressing optimism about the future, envisioning an NHS that leverages data and technology to shift from treating sickness to preventing it. This could hint at potentially controversial plans to sell access to anonymised NHS medical records for medical research which could potentially raise billions to fund services, a policy Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague have both advocated for.

At an event hosted by the New Statesman at the conference on Tuesday, Streeting also acknowledged that the levels of digital and technological maturity across the NHS remain low, so poor IT infrastructure must first be addressed to enable real transformation.

He reiterated the promise of a ten-year plan to make the NHS fairer and more sustainable, emphasising that Labour would put power into the hands of the many. The government’s vision is for an NHS that transitions from crisis to transformation, with a renewed focus on prevention, community care, and digital innovation.

The exact details of how Streeting and his team hope to achieve this fundamental shift remain unclear, as is the ever-present question of how reform will be funded and the c.£37bn NHS maintenance backlog will be met. The fact that Streeting’s address took place in a room that was barely full suggests observers may be growing tired of hearing the same soundbites repeated without the specifics to back them up. This, in addition to the Prime Minister’s earlier insistence that there will be no more funding without reform, suggest a long road may yet lie ahead for our health and care service.