Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Laura Kuenssberg about NHS reforms and the state of the economy (Picture: PA)

Labour will need at least a decade in power to fix the crisis-hit NHS and faltering economy, says Sir Keir Starmer.

And no options are off the table when it comes to reforming the health service, the party leader said. He also refused to rule out requiring patients to pay for medical care via insurance.

‘If we don’t reform the NHS we will be in managed decline… it will die,’ he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

‘It will always have to be free at the point of use and should be a public service. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use the private sector as well,’ he added.

The opposition leader outlined his vision days after blasting ‘bureaucratic nonsense’ which prevents patients referring themselves to specialists.

He spoke out as data shows waiting times for ambulances and at A&E departments are at record highs.

Challenged over whether he could be trusted as PM after rowing back on pledges made in his 2020 Labour leadership election, he said he needed a ‘clean slate’ ahead of the next general election.

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‘We are going to inherit a weakened, damaged economy. We will not be able to do everything we need to do in the first five years of a Labour government,’ he added.

The former Remainer also insisted the UK could be wealthier outside the EU, ‘so long as we improve the deal we’ve got’.

‘The economy has not grown significantly for 13 years. So even before Brexit, we had a failure under this Tory Government. I’m determined we will fix that,’ he said.

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He also refused to rule out requiring patients to pay for medical care via insurance.