Keir Starmer has announced new plans designed to tackle lengthy wait times, but health experts worry the government have bitten off more than they can chew.
Today, Monday 6th January, the government announced new plans to address NHS wait times after health secretary Wes Streeting warned on Sunday the health service could collapse like ‘Woolies’ without major reform.
The plans include offering patients 500,000 more appointments which will be delivered in the form of health-hubs. The hubs are set to offer checks, tests and scans closer to home and will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week. What’s more, 17 new and expanded surgical centres will be launched in England by June 2025.
Going forward, patients will be able to receive direct referrals for tests and scans that examine ear, nose and throat, gynaecological, urological, bowel and lung conditions.
Alongside delivering new developments, the government have also revealed new technology advancements in a bid to help the NHS. Hospitals and GP surgeries will be equipped to use AI and remote monitoring tools and the NHS app will be overhauled to give patients more choice.
In a statement, Prime minister Keir Starmer said: ‘NHS backlogs have ballooned in recent years, leaving millions of patients languishing on waiting lists, often in pain or fear.
‘This elective reform plans 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 thy desperately want to.’
However, some health experts don’t share the same optimism as Starmer. Tim Gardner, assistant director of Policy at the Health Foundation has claimed the plans are ‘highly ambitious’ and remarks that the government have previously gained a reputation for frequently missing targets.
‘We welcome the NHS’s plan to tackle waiting times for routine hospital treatment. With a waiting list of 7.5million and nearly 235,000 waits of over a year, there are too many patients waiting in pain, many with their conditions worsening over time,’ Tim said. ‘But we should be under no illusions about just how stretching the targets are in this plan.’
‘The aim for 92% of patients to receive hospital treatment within 18 weeks of a referral by the end of this parliament is highly ambitious and hasn’t been met for nearly a decade. To achieve this, it would effectively mean the waiting list would need to fall by over three million over the next four years,’ Tim continues.
‘The commitment to an inclusive recovery to ensure that all patients benefit from the reforms is positive. The focus on personalisation and improving patient experience is welcome, but measures such as making greater use of the NHS App to expand patient choice and increasing use of the private sector*, need to be managed carefully so they don’t further widen inequalities.’
To give context on the pressures the government are currently facing with regards to delivering NHS reform, Starmer publicly pledged last year that by July 2029 92% of patients would be seen within 18 weeks.
Tim added: ‘While cutting waiting times for routine hospital procedures is one of the government’s top priorities, it’s vital that this doesn’t come at the expense of the wider shifts the government wants to achieve through the upcoming 10-year health plan.
‘Improvements need to be made across the wider health and care system, including significant investment in additional capacity in both primary and acute care, new technology and skills to streamline services and boost productivity, as well as reform and investment in social care.’
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