Keir Starmer has unveiled Labour's vision to overhaul the NHS - as he warned the health service won't "survive five more years of Tory government".
In a speech in Essex, the Labour leader said the NHS had been ground down by years of mismanagement, creating a "cruel lottery of who lives and who dies".
He blasted the lengthy A&E waits, spiralling waiting lists and ambulance delays facing patients, with people scrambling for GP appointments and getting late diagnoses for cancer and other illnesses.
Mr Starmer said: "At the next election, the NHS is on the line. The Conservative Party that has brought it to its knees - will put it in the ground.
"But mark my words, if all we do in the Labour Party is place the NHS on a pedestal and leave it there, that’s not good enough.
"We’ve got to fix the fundamentals, renew its purpose, make it fit for the future - that’s what this mission is about."
The Labour leader gave the clearest idea yet of health policy at the next election - but failed to commit to pouring more cash into the NHS than the Tories.
Grilled on whether more money would go into the NHS under his leadership, he said it is "part of the solution" but it's not "all about money".
"Technology could do what money can't do," he added.
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Mr Starmer also said a "fair pay agreement" was needed for striking health staff but said Labour was not focused on the structure of negotiations.
Here are some of the key points from his speech.
Ending long waits for NHS treatment
Mr Starmer vowed the next Labour Government would get the NHS back on track and meeting targets which are consistently being missed.
These include goals to see 95% of A&E patients within four hours and 92% of patients to get treatment within 18 weeks of a referral.
Labour would hit cancer targets again, which say 93% of patients should see a specialist within two weeks of a referral and 85% start treatment within 62 days.
He also vowed to end long ambulance waits by ensuring life-threatening category one calls - such as cardiac arrest - get a response in seven minutes and category two calls such as stroke or chest pain are handled within 18 minutes.
Mr Starmer said: "No backsliding, no excuses - we will meet these standards again. We will get the NHS back on its feet."
AI to diagnose lung cancer
Mr Starmer said artificial intelligence (AI) will "change the nature of healthcare" and pointed to how it could be used to diagnose lung cancer, known as a "silent killer", more quickly.
He said: "Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK. 274,000 patients waiting, for 11 days or more, to hear back from the scan which could tell them if they have cancer.
"AI can reduce workload and raise productivity. But here’s the real thing, when used properly by a radiologist, it can reduce missed lung cancer diagnoses by 60%.
"And because it’s quicker, because it’s more accurate, the lives it could save through early diagnosis are countless."
Digital patient records and greater use of the NHS app
The Labour leader said he wants "an NHS where technology gives patients more responsibility and professionals more time".
He said the opportunities offered by the NHS app, which was used during the pandemic, had been "wasted" by the Government.
Labour would use the app to host digital patient records, to make it easier for patients and GPs to access information.
Patients will be able to use the app to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, and receive reminders to go for check-ups.
Advertising ban on junk food and vaping
Mr Starmer vowed to crack down on advertising harmful products to kids, such as junk food and vaping products.
He said: "We will change advertising rules and we will make sure that products which are harmful to our children’s health - vaping, junk food, sugary snacks - cannot be advertised to our children.
"No - not in Britain."
But the Labour leader declined to endorse calls for taxes on sugary and salty foods.
"The focus today is very clearly on advertising," he said. "What I don't want to do in a cost of living crisis is to add to the burden of food costs for families that are already struggling."
Social care overhaul to free up hospital beds
The Labour leader vowed to get the NHS and social care working more closely together locally so that hospital patients can be discharged more quickly.
He said: "We can’t have hospitals blocked up by patients who are desperate to go home and ready to be discharged. So we’ll make good on the integration of health and social care.
"Building on successful community models like the centre at Bromley-by-Bow where they bring together in one place – doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social carers - to provide joint up care in the community, keeping people out of hospital."
He said Labour would recruit and retain more carers with "a fair pay agreement".
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Mirror today that Labour would offer training to care workers to help get patients diagnosed earlier and to better support people who have long term health problems.
