The NHS may be broken, but it certainly isn't beaten, says Wes Streeting

This is a tough time for the NHS, staff working in the service, and patients waiting to be treated by it. I was honest with the public before the election that we wouldn't be able to wave a magic wand on day one of a Labour government and fix it. It's going to take time to turn it around.

What I've been shown by my officials proves that the Conservatives haven't been honest with the public about the state they have left health and social care services in.

That's why I have appointed Lord Darzi, an NHS surgeon for more than three decades, to lead an independent investigation into the health service. He will ask the hard questions, leave no stone unturned, and speak truth to power. I've instructed my department to hand over any information he asks for, and NHS England will do the same. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. I want the public, staff, and myself to be given the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

As Lord Darzi said himself, to find the cure you've got to first get the diagnosis. His findings will be the first step on the road to recovery, and will be the basis from which we begin to draft the NHS ten-year plan- the roadmap to an NHS fit for the future.

We're serious about getting this right and involving every part of the NHS, from NHS leaders to frontline staff and most importantly, patients.

When I was first appointed Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, I was told that the worst thing I could say to staff was the word 'reform.' That it would conjure memories of Andrew Lansley's top-down reorganisation and cause more than a million spines in the NHS to shudder. The truth is it's the complete opposite. Staff working on the frontline are crying out for change and full of ideas to improve the service. I want everyone to share their ideas and tell me directly how the NHS needs to change. That's how we will write the plan for the future of the NHS, that will see it treat more patients in their own neighbourhood, take advantage of modern technology, and prevent people falling ill in the first place. I'll be setting out more about how we plan to do this soon.

As we look ahead to securing the NHS's future beyond the next decade, I've also been taking immediate action to get patients treated on time right now, and to make sure we keep the promises we made to Sunday Express readers before the election.

We promised 40,000 extra appointments a week, including more at evenings and weekends, so I've got my officials and NHS leaders pulling together a detailed plan to deliver them as soon as possible.

I've promised to meet with the British Dental Association on the Monday after the election, and that's exactly what we did. I'm delighted they told me they are standing ready to deliver the 700,000 extra urgent and emergency appointments we pledged in our manifesto.

I also promised during the election campaign to re-open talks with the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, with the aim of ending the crippling strike action.

I was shocked to learn that the former Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins, hadn't met with the junior doctors since March. Thousands of patients saw their appointments and operations cancelled last month, during the five-day strike. Even in opposition and during the middle of the election campaign, I met with the BMA junior doctors committee at the time to ask them to call the strikes off. I cannot imagine the anger of patients who saw their care disrupted, and who now learn the previous government did not meet them to try to stop it.

I met with the junior doctors this week and will be doing so again next week, to get negotiations up and running at pace. I have been upfront and honest with them- this government has inherited the worst economic circumstances since the Second World War, and taxpayers cannot afford a 35% pay increase. But we got off on the right foot and both sides have demonstrated a willingness to compromise. Patients, staff, and taxpayers have had enough of the cancellations and costs of these strikes, and I'm optimistic that there's a deal to be done.

I wouldn't have wanted any other job and was delighted when the Prime Minister appointed me Health and Social Care Secretary. The challenges are huge and nothing I've seen in my first week has convinced me otherwise. But I believe strongly that if we make the right long-term decisions now, we can have an NHS, free at the point of use for the next 75 years, as we have for the last 75 years.

The NHS saved my life, and I can't think of a better way to repay my debt than by saving the NHS.

The NHS may be broken, but it certainly isn't beaten.