PM Sets Out Plan To End Waiting List Backlogs Through Millions More Appointments
Millions of patients will be able to access more appointments closer to home and get the treatment they need faster under a new plan to tackle hospital backlogs set out by the Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer.
Tackling the 7.5million strong waiting list inherited by the government so that the NHS once again meets the 18 week standard for planned treatment is a key milestone in the government’s Plan for Change. Restoring this standard will mean millions of patients no longer have to have their lives put on hold.
Currently, too many patients face long waits for appointments or surgeries and may be referred to hospitals they don’t choose at inconvenient times, while appointments and staff time are being lost to inefficiencies or inconsistencies in care.
The Elective Reform Plan, published yesterday [Monday 6th January] by NHS England, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. This includes expanded use of Community Diagnostic Centres so that many more people will be able to access tests and checks while going about their daily lives, and the NHS will also increase the number of surgical hubs, which help protect planned care from the impact of seasonal and other pressures.
The plan will drive forward progress on the government’s first steps commitment to deliver 2 million extra appointments in its first year, equivalent to 40,000 every week. The reforms will put patients first, harness technology to support staff and help the NHS to do things more efficiently.
Prime Minister Keir 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.”
“This is a key plank of our Plan for Change, which will drive growth that puts more money in people’s pockets, secures our borders and makes the NHS fit for the future so what working people live longer, healthier, more prosperous lives.”
Up to half a million more appointments a year are expected to be created in total by opening Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) for longer and bringing 17 new and expanded surgical hubs online. Opening Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) 12 hours a day, seven days a week wherever possible will mean people can access a broader range of more appointments closer to home in their neighbourhoods. This will make sure they are treated more quickly and more conveniently, rather than having to rely on hospitals.
The plans also involve increasing the availability of same-day tests and consultations so that patients don’t have to wait for weeks in between different stages of care. They will also expand the range of tests available at CDCs so people get better access to treatment, and enabling GPs to direct patients straight to diagnostic testing so that they receive their tests quicker, before having to see a specialist – in turn saving them time and travel.
Alongside the extended hours for CDCs, 14 new surgical hubs will be created within existing hospitals by June and three others expanded – with more expected in coming years supported by the £1.5bn capital investment confirmed at the Autumn budget. These will bring together the necessary expertise, best practice and tech under one roof to focus on delivering the most common, less complex procedures. The new hubs will be ring-fenced from winter pressures and will cut waiting lists for standard surgeries, in turn freeing up beds in acute wards needed for more complex cases.
Under the plan, 65% of patients will be treated within 18 weeks by the end of next year. Based on the size of the current waiting list, that would mean a fall of more than 450k people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
Health and Social Care Secretary 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.”
Further measures include:
• Using the NHS app to give patients greater choice and control over their treatment. This includes making sure patients can get better access to information via the app, such as the details of their appointments, results and waiting times, and use it to book appointments in the location of their choice, with information about waiting times and patient satisfaction.
• Preventing unnecessary referrals. GPs will be funded to work with hospital doctors to get specialist advice before making referrals, so that more patients get the care they need without being referred onto the waiting list.
• Giving patients choice over non essential follow up appointments as part of a drive to free up around 1 million appointments a year for those who need them.
• Making more appointments available in the community instead of hospitals. More treatment for five specialties with particular pressure on waiting lists will also be made available outside of hospital through targeted reforms, including Ear Nose and Throat services, where around 30% of referrals currently made to secondary care could be provided in the community.
• Making convenience for patients a priority through the roll out of innovative ‘collective care’ approaches, for example, one stop clinics where patients can be assessed, diagnosed or reviewed on the same day; where appropriate, offering group appointments where patients with long term conditions may benefit from being supported together; opening ‘super clinics’ which bring together a wider range of clinicians to oversee patient care under the oversight of a consultant, increasing the number of patients seen in a day.
• Driving up patient experience through a set of national standards for elective care. We will publish minimum standards that patients should expect to experience in elective care, including giving patients a shortlist of providers to choose from and clarity on how long they are likely to wait. In turn these standards will make it easier to identify where performance is falling short and how to improve it.
