Starmer launches private sector push to cut NHS waiting lists in England

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Sir Keir Starmer launched a new partnership between the National Health Service and private sector in England on Monday aimed at reducing waiting lists, but admitted the move was controversial.

The prime minister, speaking after a bruising first six months in office, said his government’s approach to reforming the struggling health service “must be totally unburdened by dogma” and he was “not interested in putting ideology before patients”.

A “new agreement” to expand the relationship will see “the spaces, the facilities and resources of private hospitals more readily available to the NHS”, Starmer said, addressing health workers at a hospital in Epsom, Surrey. “That’s more beds, more operations, more care available to the NHS.”

He added: “I know some people won’t like this, but I make no apologies. Change is urgent.”

Under a series of proposals set out on Monday, the government also outlined plans to offer an extra 450,000 appointments for tests and checks at local diagnostic centres that will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

GPs will be able to refer patients directly to the centres, where they will be able to receive a broad range of tests without having to see a specialist doctor.

Expanding access to the centres is a key part of the government’s ambition to reduce the number of people waiting for NHS treatment, which stands at 7.5mn in England.

In its general election manifesto last year, Labour promised that by the end of this parliament 92 per cent of patients would begin treatment for an ailment or get the all-clear within 18 weeks.

This 18-week target is currently met for just 59 per cent of patients in England; Starmer will set a new interim target of 65 per cent to be met by March next year.

The government published a new “Elective Reform Plan” for the NHS setting out ways to achieve the 18-week interim target. 

As well as expanding the use of community diagnostic centres, Labour is aiming to increase the availability of same-day tests and consultations. 

The government will also set out plans to create 14 surgical hubs within existing hospitals focused on less complex procedures such as joint replacements and cataract surgery. 

Hospitals in England that deliver the fastest improvements in waiting times for care will be rewarded with a share of millions of pounds in extra investment for buildings and equipment.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard 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.”

But Ed Argar, shadow health secretary, said it was the last Tory government that “revolutionised” the diagnostic process by rolling out 160 Community Diagnostic Centres. “After 14 years in opposition, the Labour party have no new ideas of their own for the NHS — despite promising change,” he said.