Can ritzy reforms save the NHS?

The NHS is 60 years old, and it's slated for a ritzy relaunch. But are more reforms really necessary, and with billions poured into the health service, where has all the money gone?

The NHS turns 60 tomorrow. And what better way to celebrate than with a ritzy relaunch? Earlier this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown described a new report by junior health minister and surgeon Lord Darzi as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity" to reform the health service for the 21st century.

But you could be forgiven for asking why it needs to be reformed at all. After all, by the end of last year, Mr Brown and the Labour party had spent a total of £269bn more on the NHS than if spending levels been frozen at 1997 levels, says David Craig in his book

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.