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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published Lord Darzi's report on the state of NHS England, which revealed that the health service is in "serious trouble." Lord Darzi pointed out that the NHS has failed to meet key promises made to the public since 2015 and patient satisfaction is now at its lowest ever level. Rising waiting times and difficulties accessing GPs were highlighted as major concerns. "There are huge and unwarranted variations in the number of patients per GP, and shortages are particularly acute in deprived communities," the report said. Darzi described the state of A&E as "awful", noting that nearly 10 per cent of patients wait 12 hours or more today. Additionally, Lord Darzi's investigation found that the NHS budget is not being optimally allocated, noting that "too great a share is being spent in hospitals, too little in the community, and productivity is too low."

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called on the NHS and the Department of Health to immediately publish the government-commissioned analysis of pharmacy underfunding and reveal the true scale of the crisis. Commissioned by NHS England, the long-awaited independent review is expected to "lay bare the perilous financial state" of community pharmacies, which is a vital part of the nation's health infrastructure. However, the NPA is concerned that the government may delay its release until after current funding consultations are concluded. The NPA argued that the public needs to understand the fragile nature of the pharmacy network before any new deal can be agreed. It has also warned health officials not to hide "the true scale of funding needed to reverse a decade of swingeing cuts", which has forced record numbers of pharmacy closures. NPA chair Nick Kaye said: "It would be a scandal to keep that evidence buried secret and leave MPs, pharmacies and the public in the dark." He acknowledged that the new government has inherited a crisis in pharmacy funding and emphasised that it will need to take "strong action" to maintain access to medicines.

The new Labour government's first budget has not been well received by community pharmacies, who are 'deeply worried' about the increase in National Insurance and the national living wage. They have also voiced their dissatisfaction with the Autumn Budget 2024 for lacking measures to address pharmacy closures. Commenting on the Chancellor's Budget, Paul Rees, CEO of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said: "Millions of people who depend on local pharmacies will be holding their breath today, hoping that the £22.6bn increase in health spending announced by the Chancellor will include money to stem the devastating closure of local health services in the past decade. "There's absolutely no mention in the Budget of action to halt the closure of our vital NHS pharmacy network, which has been shrinking at the rate of seven a week as pharmacies are forced to close through underfunding." According to the NPA, around 700 pharmacies have shut since just the start of 2022 due to the impact of a 40 per cent cut to funding coupled with rising demand.