'Our absolute lifeline': Starmer issues 'very special thank you' to health workers as NHS celebrates 77th anniversary

5 July 2025, 08:07 | Updated: 5 July 2025, 08:44

Starmer's heartfelt message to patients and nurses on 77th anniversary of NHS

Sir Keir Starmer has met personally thanked the nurse who cared for his dying brother to mark the 77th anniversary of the NHS.

The Prime Minister's brother Nick Starmer died peacefully aged 60 on Boxing Day last year after battling cancer.

In a new video released by Number 10, Sir Keir meets with Advance Nurse Practitioner Ben Huntley who provided expert care to his brother during the final weeks of his life.

It comes after Sir Keir announced proposals for a 10-year plan for the NHS, saying the “future already looks better” for the beleaguered service.

Sir Keir described the care Starmer received as a "lifeline" as he also discussed his family ties to the NHS.

He said: “My mum worked in the NHS and then she was very, very ill, for most of her life. And the NHS became our absolute lifeline.

Read more: Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to host 'coalition of the willing' meeting in the UK next week

Read more: A Year of Keir: Month-by-month, the changing face of PM Starmer

"My sister worked for the NHS, my wife works for the NHS and it was the NHS that looked after my brother who we lost last Boxing Day to cancer.

“That meant a huge amount to me and my family and, on all of our behalf. I say through you a very special thank you to the NHS.”

Mr Huntley was one of a number of NHS workers invited to Downing Street this week for a special reception to celebrate the work of the public sector; including nurses, doctors, paramedics, police officers, emergency call handlers, prison officers, firefighters, RNLI volunteers, teachers and other school workers, border force officers, members of the armed forces, and veterans.

On Thursday, Sir Keir set out proposals for the NHS which he said would bring care much closer to people’s homes, reducing the reliance on hospitals and on A&E.

Under the changes, there will be fewer staff working in the NHS than previous projections said were needed, with far more providing care closer to home and fewer working in hospitals.

Key reforms include a greatly enhanced NHS app to give patients more control over their care and more data at their fingertips, new neighbourhood health centres open six days a week, and at least 12 hours a day, and new laws on food and alcohol to prevent ill health.

Sir Keir said: “It’s all down to the foundation we laid this year, all down to the path of renewal that we chose, the decisions made by the Chancellor, by Rachel Reeves, which mean we can invest record amounts in the NHS.

“Already [more than] 6,000 mental health workers [have been] recruited, 1,700 GPs, 170 community diagnostic centres – really important – already open. New surgical hubs, new mental health units, new ambulance sites. Record investment right across the system.”