Labour unveils huge NHS reforms - everything you need to know about big changes to GPs and hospitals
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Nearly a million hospital appointments are set to be freed up under new plans to make it easier and faster to get specialist treatment on the NHS. Some £80 million of NHS funds will be paid to GPs who perform more specialist referrals themselves through increased use of the ‘Advice and Guidance’ (A&G) scheme.
Huge numbers of patients have to wait months for ‘second opinion’ appointments with hospital consultants - even if their conditions don’t need to be treated in hospital. Under the new scheme, family doctors work with hospital specialists before making referrals, to ensure patients are getting the right treatment in the right place and reduce hospital pressures.
And it will mean hundreds of thousands more patients suffering from ear, nose and throat complaints, age-related hearing loss, tinnitus and other conditions that don’t require hospital treatment will be cared for in the community. The scheme is one of a raft of reforms to be announced by Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Monday.
Mr Streeting said the changes will shift the NHS "into the digital age" and help cut waiting times "from 18 months to 18 weeks". This includes giving people a choice on how their care is followed up, be it in person or online, as well as giving patients a shortlist of providers to choose from and making it easier for them to contact providers for follow-ups.
