More patients will be sent for treatment in private hospitals under Government plans to slash the NHS waiting list, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister used a speech to pledge “better use” of capacity in the private sector, with the NHS told it must actively tell patients when they can be treated at private hospitals.
Under a new deal outlined by the Department of Health, women on gynaecological waiting lists and orthopaedics patients are among those who will be offered treatment in the private sector, all funded by the NHS. In gynaecology, there is currently a backlog of 260,000 women waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment, while in orthopaedics more than 40% of patients are waiting longer than the 18-week NHS waiting times target.
Under the deal, the independent sector has been told it must review its “clinical exclusion criteria” to ensure as “broad a cohort of patients as possible” can be treated in private hospitals, to prevent just the easiest operations being done privately.
In the wider plan, published on Monday, the Reforming Elective Care for Patients document states that, by the end of March this year, 85% of acute NHS trusts will enable patients to view appointment information via the NHS App. By March 2027, the NHS App will also be “significantly expanded to improve information for patients in elective care”, while the app and Manage Your Referral website will become the “default route” by which patients choose where they wish to be treated.
