Government hits NHS target early and opens door to more private investment
The government revealed it hit its two million extra NHS appointments target seven months early, as the health secretary warns there is a “hell of lot more to do”.
The new figures published by NHS England revealed that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2m more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year.
The government launched ‘Change NHS’ last October, a 10-year health plan to “build a health service fit for the future”.
Last Thursday, it released data showing the overall backlog at the NHS dropped slightly from 7.48m to 7.46m, while the estimated number of patients waiting was down from 6.28m to 6.24m.
But Monday’s figure was more comprehensive, revealing that the NHS offered 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests.
Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast that the government “delivered on our first step” but noted his department wasn’t “doing victory laps”.
“There are still massive challenges in the NHS, a hell of a lot further to go on waiting lists,” he explained, adding, “People are still struggling to get GP appointments, and GPs are struggling.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed today’s data, stating, “We’re determined to go further and faster to deliver more appointments, faster treatment, and an NHS that the British public deserve as part of our plan for change.”
This new data comes after a recent report which stated that nearly one in eight Brits have medical insurance, a near-record high.
According to healthcare analysts Laingbuisson nearly 12 per cent of the UK population is now covered by medical insurance, the highest proportion since 2008.
The health secretary has been vocal on using the private health market to help free up NHS waiting lists. Commenting last month, Streeting said: “I’m not going to allow working people to wait longer than is necessary when we can get them treated sooner in a private hospital, paid for by the NHS.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 this morning, the health secretary signalled support for private investment for the NHS, stating, “I certainly want more patient choice, more patient power, more patient control over where they’re seen, how they’re treated, the nature of their appointments.”
“The NHS should be as responsive as any other organisation that we use.”
“I think there is a role for private investment, but the terms of those arrangements, that’s where you’ve got to tread really carefully. But I’m open to serious proposals from the NHS, or indeed anyone else,” he added.
Last September, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) called for a radical transformation of the NHS, proposing that it be replaced with a Social Health Insurance (SHI) system to improve healthcare outcomes in the UK.