How the Health Service 'is failing both young and old'

It said Britain is falling behind the medical standards set by other countries because of a "perfect storm" of problems.

Reform, a leading think-tank, said these include the demands of an ageing population and the costs of new treatments.

Scroll down for more...

Further issues such as the obesity crisis and rising birth rates of migrants are among the challenges it said could cost the NHS an extra £20billion a year.

Nick Bosanquet, a Reform consultant and health policy expert at Imperial College London, said the report shows the need for a drastic change of approach.

"We have got to have more value out of the vast amount of money going into the NHS," he added.

"Central policy is not the answer to the problems, we need to see an end to the inefficiencies of a huge bureaucratic system."

Professor Bosanquet said a health review due in the summer, headed by Lord Darzi, must offer more than "good intentions" alone.

"The NHS needs an economic constitution which gives every level of the service the duty to achieve value for money," he added.

The report says seven international studies last year showed Britain was falling behind on a number of measures.

Researchers found that: • Britain's infant death rate is the 4th worst among 25 countries.

• Maternity services are causing "grave concerns".

• Child wellbeing is lower than in any of 21 other industrialised countries.

• Death rates for stroke victims are the 3rd highest among 11 countries.

• Diagnosis of dementia takes longer than anywhere else.

• Waiting times for surgery are longer than in most European nations.

• Mental health patients wait up to two years for psychological therapies.

Reform said that patient care will deteriorate further because of budget shortages and a lack of talented staff. Health trusts should foster increased competition in the provision of services.

Andrew Haldenby, co-author of the report, said: "In his major speech on the NHS in January, the Prime Minister said that reform was all but in place and the service could move on to tackling issues such as obesity.

"In fact, reform has barely left the starting gate. Given the position of the public finances, it is the only possible route to new investment and improvement."

Andrew Lansley, Tory health spokesman, said: "This report highlights Gordon Brown's mismanagement of our NHS. He has spent a lot but achieved too little.

"Our proposals last year for more patient choice and more competition between healthcare providers would ensure we do what it takes to improve productivity in the NHS.

"I welcome Reform's call for the Government to take this approach.

"But unfortunately, there is little to suggest that Labour's NHS review under Lord Darzi will produce anything but more of the same - short-term, politically-driven policies."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said recent reforms had led to much-improved healthcare provision with patients enjoying more information, choice and control.

But he added: "We need an NHS capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

"This vision of the future for the NHS will be the focus of Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review, identifying the way forward for a 21st century NHS which is clinically-driven, patient-centred and responsive to local communities."