Wes Streeting said the “radical” plans were necessary to tackle inherited issues (Image: Getty)
The revealed a “radical” plan to reduce waiting lists this week, but nursing representatives warned of a “missing link”
NHS England’s Elective Reform Plan outlines the first steps to achieve government’s target of getting 92% of patients seen for elective treatment within 18 weeks of referral, by the end current parliament.
It sets out numerous changes, including new community diagnostic centres and 17 new surgical hubs set to be opened in England by June 2025.
Health Secretary 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.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also deemed it “radical” and acknowledged the plans were “ambitious”
She said: “The radical reforms in this plan will not only allow us to deliver millions more tests, appointments and operations, but do things differently too – boosting convenience and putting more power in the hands of patients, especially through the NHS app.”
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Staff are at “breaking point” according to a nursing representative (Image: Getty)
However Unison head of health Helga Pile wasn’t sure this plan would change sentiment among staff at “breaking point”.
Pile said: “Health workers have been taken for granted for years by governments and little they’ve heard from the Prime Minister on his plans will encourage them to feel differently.
“It’s not just the state of services and the quality of care that are making staff feel so low. Many are at breaking point as they’ve too few colleagues to get the job done and they keep seeing those they work with quit for pastures new.”
Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger similarly acknowledged a “missing link” in plans amid .
Professor Ranger said: “Nursing is crucial to a better future for health and social care, but there are tens of thousands of vacancies across every part of the system and every region in England.
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“Nursing staff support patients’ right to choose, but they know all too well that choosing between two understaffed services is a false choice.”
Under the plan, will play a key part to relieve pressure from hospitals, and by March 2026, government hopes that all centres will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
By the end of 2026, the NHS plan aims to get 65% of patients seen within 18 weeks. If achieved, it would mean a decrease of around 450,000 people over this limit at present.
According to government, these measures would lead to around half a million more appointments each year.
There may also be a “collective care” approach, where people with the same long-term conditions would attend group appointments or clinics by September 2025.
It also aims to remove 500,000 “lower value follow-up appointments” per year from 2026-27, replaced by remote monitoring for long-term conditions.
GPs would receive funding to seek advice from hospital specialists to check if a consultant referral is necessary, and there may be “significant elective care reform” in ear, nose and throat (ENT), gastroenterology, respiratory, urology and cardiology services.
It aims to bolster its technology, to “tackle inefficiencies holding up appointments”, and improve patients’ ability to choose where and how they are treated.