Millions More Appointments To Be Created Under Plan To Slash NHS Waiting Lists
Millions more NHS appointments will be created so patients can be seen more quickly and waiting lists slashed, Keir Starmer will announce on Monday.
The prime minister will use a major speech to unveil the government’s plan to cut maximum waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks by the next election.
He will make the pledge after health secretary Wes Streeting warned the NHS could “collapse” like High Street giant Woolworths without major reform.
Under the “elective reform plan”, more use will be made of community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs to speed up treatment.
Patients will also be given greater choice on which hospital they go to for treatment.
Ministers hope that the shake-up will create an extra half a million appointments a year and bring down the current NHS waiting list of 7.5 million.
Starmer said: “This government promised change and that is what I am fighting every day to deliver.
“NHS backlogs have ballooned in recent years, leaving millions of patients languishing on waiting lists, often in pain or fear. Lives on hold. Potential unfulfilled.
“This elective reform plan will deliver on our promise to end the backlogs. Millions more appointments. Greater choice and convenience for patients. Staff once again able to give the standard of care they desperately want to.”
The NHS will also be overhauled to allow patients who need non-emergency elective treatment to choose from a range of providers, including those in the independent sector.
Users will also be able to view and manage appointments, book tests and checks at convenient locations such as community diagnostic centres, receive test results, and book any necessary follow-up appointments, such as remote consultations or surgery.
Wes Streeting said: “We inherited record long waiting lists, impacting patients’ lives and their livelihoods. Only the combination of investment and radical reform can turn this around, as we’re setting out today.
“Our plan for change set an ambitious target to cut maximum wait times from 18 months to 18 weeks, and we will achieve it by bringing care closer to home and give patients more choice over their treatment.
“The NHS should work around patients’ lives, not the other way around. By opening community diagnostic centres on high streets 12 hours a day, seven days a week, patients will now be able to arrange their tests and scans for when they go to do their weekend shopping, rather than being forced to take time out of work.
“The reforms we’re launching today will free up millions of appointments, so the NHS can be there for us when we need it once again.”