NHS will go 'the way of Woolworths' unless it adopts new tech to become more ... trends now
The NHS is at risk of going 'the way of Woolworths' if it fails to adopt new technology that will make it more efficient, Wes Streeting has warned.
Labour's shadow health secretary said the service must modernise as there is 'no scope' for spending to go much higher and 'no future' if it continues to rely on 'outdated' and 'costly' ways of working.
He likened the NHS to Woolies, which he described as a 'much-loved national institution' but one that 'failed to change with the times and was left behind'.
The High Street retailer closed in 2009, with the loss of more than 800 stores, after struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crash.
Mr Streeting said the Government has been too 'timid' when it comes to implementing the changes that are necessary for the NHS to thrive and insisted he would go further.
Speaking at the WIRED Health event in London this afternoon, Labour's shadow health spokesman Wes Streeting said the Conservatives had been too timid and Labour would go further. He said this would include sharing all GP patient records across the health service so people could get better joined up care
He vowed to face down the 'vested interests' of those who promote the status quo and take-on the 'scaremongering' of the 'tinfoil hat brigade' on social media, which he claimed are having undue influence on NHS policy.
The MP for Ilford North said he would force GPs to share patients' medical records across the health service so people can benefit from better joined up care.
This would also lead to the development of new treatments, better sharing of preventative health advice and an opportunity to join more clinical trials, he added.
Current plans for the NHS 'federated data platform' only include the sharing of hospital data - and even this has been met with outrage from privacy campaigners.
Speaking at the WIRED Health event in London this afternoon, Mr Streeting said: 'Unleashing the power of technology is not abstract.
'This is about how many patients the NHS can treat, and how
