I TRIED to give my best blue steel," says Dr Chris Streather, London's NHS medical director. "I'm more comfortable with a goofy smile." An affable optimist, Streather rose to one of the top roles in London's NHS in 2022. Now he oversees future clinical strategy for our city, part of a leadership team (he reports directly to London NHS director Caroline Clarke) that is responsible for the health of 10 million Londoners - a fact which sounds terrifying, but which Streather assures me "is a huge privilege, honestly."
It's an interesting time to be meeting Streather - there's a level of doublethink at play when it comes to the public's attitudes towards the NHS. A recent poll by think-tank The Health Foundation found that 'the health service makes more people proud to be British than our history, our culture, our system of democracy or the royal family' and that this pride comes down in part to the fact that it remains free at the point of access but also because of the quality of the care that patients receive.
At the same time, though - and over the past few weeks in particular- everyfrom Tony Blair to former health secretary Sajid Javid has been lining up to give the NHS a kicking. "The entire British state is on the verge of becoming a subsidiary of the NHS," said Javid, referring to the Institute for Fiscal Studies' warning that "health spending is set to account for 44% of total day-to-day public service spending". Indeed, with 7.4 million people on waiting lists and 110,000 staff vacancies, the statistics seem to point to a sprawling and bloated system that's failing both its workforce and its users.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis