Expanded seven-day health hubs to help tackle NHS waiting times in England
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Proposals to be outlined by Keir Starmer will offer patients 500,000 more appointments a year, as health secretary says without reforms NHS could collapse ‘like Woolworths’. Patients in England will be offered 500,000 more appointments a year via seven-day health hubs under plans to tackle lengthy waiting times, as ministers warned the NHS could collapse like Woolworths without major reform.
Millions of people will be able to access checks, tests and scans closer to home as the health service expands the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) opening 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Seventeen new and expanded surgical centres across the country will launch by June to get more patients treated faster as part of a series of proposals to be outlined on Monday by Keir Starmer.
Hospitals and GP surgeries will also be directed to increase the use of technology such as remote monitoring and artificial intelligence tools to prevent unnecessary appointments and admissions. The NHS app will be overhauled to give patients more choice.
“NHS backlogs have ballooned in recent years, leaving millions of patients languishing on waiting lists, often in pain or fear,” the prime minister said. “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.”.
