Hello and welcome to this episode of Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.

I'm Nick Davies, IFG Programme Director and today's IFG podcast presenter.

So MPs are still on recess and Westminster is strangely quiet with the spotlight very much on events in Northern Ireland and a visit from

President Biden. But that is not what we're going to be talking about on today's podcast. Pick up a paper

on any day, switch on the news headlines, or scroll through Twitter,

and you can't miss a story which is causing increasing problems for politicians and real problems

for the public. And that is the state of the NHS. From unsolved pay disputes to record backlogs,

abandoned social care reforms, and now accusations of sexual harassment of female surgeons,

finding a good news story about health and care services is nigh on impossible. So just how bad

have things got? What can be done to fix the problems? And does Rishi Sunak have the answer? Or is

Kier Stama coming up with a plan? We're going to take a step back and look at the story, which you can bet is going to stay high on the agenda in the coming weeks and months,

and we'll play a major role in the next election. Joining me today are three guests who have seen

NHS crises come and go, and repeated governments promised to make things better. First off,

IFG senior fellow, Jill Rutter.

Hi, Nick. And I'm delighted to be joined by two Rachel's. Rachel Sylvester, Times columnist

and Chair of the Times Health Commission. Hi, Rachel. Hi, Nick. And also Rachel Wolf, founding

partner at Public First, co-author of the 2019 Conservative Manifesto, and now also co-author of an upcoming

report on NHS productivity in partnership with the Institute and the Health Foundation.

Hello, Rachel.

Hi.

Let's start by looking at how bad things really are.

And the numbers aren't great.

...