Major plan to cut waiting lists will see millions receive faster diagnosis and treatment - NHS England

Hundreds of thousands of patients will be able to get directly referred and booked in for tests, checks and scans by their GP for a range of conditions as part of a radical new plan set to be launched by the NHS and government next week.

People with conditions such as breathlessness, asthma in children and young people, and post-menopausal bleeding will benefit from a faster service, with patients no longer needing to see a consultant first.

Under the upgraded services, patients could receive their diagnosis weeks earlier with NHS chiefs vowing to boost patient experience and end the cycle of people getting stuck waiting between GP referrals and hospital appointments.

As part of the Elective Reform Plan, millions of people will receive quicker diagnosis and treatment to deliver routine care to nine in ten patients within 18 weeks.

The ambitious new blueprint will see more patients receiving a same day service – with a follow up consultation on the same day as their diagnostic test or scan.

Under the reforms, thousands more patients will receive a diagnosis and treatment date within a single day, providing people with peace of mind or a clear way forward for their treatment.

Acceleration of diagnosis times for patients will also come alongside a major expansion of ring-fenced elective capacity in both hospitals and the community – allowing routine care to be protected from winter pressures and future pandemics.

The plan for patients will also ensure that people are as fit and prepared as possible for treatment while they wait for an operation – this will not only boost post op outcomes and speed up recovery, but also reduce the number of on the day cancellations.

Patients waiting for surgery will be offered support to lose weight and stop smoking while they wait, with evidence showing that quitting tobacco four weeks before surgery can substantially reduce the risk of respiratory and wound healing complications by up to a third.

NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: “While there are too many people waiting unacceptably long for care, NHS staff have made huge progress in bringing down long waits since the pandemic. And backed by government investment, alongside our commitment to continue to reform and innovate, we know that staff can significantly reduce waiting times across the country again.

“With one in nine people in England on a waiting list, we know that there is more we can do to support those who are waiting for crucial tests and procedures.

“By making it easier for people to get timely access to the tests they need alongside direct referrals and same day checks and consultations - this plan will help thousands more people to get a faster diagnosis and quicker treatment or the all clear, so people can get back to living their lives as soon as possible, with peace of mind that they won't need further treatment.

“The reforms set out in this plan are focused on improving how people access and experience routine care, as much as they are about waiting times - we are determined not to hit the target but miss the point. Simply put, this is a plan with patients at its heart.” 

Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, said: "As patients, we've all experienced the hoops you have to jump through to get the test or scan you and your GP know you need. It's a waste of patients' time, delays diagnoses when every minute matters, and means consultants are forced to tick boxes rather than treat patients.

“The reforms we're announcing next week will speed up diagnoses and free up NHS staff to treat more patients.

“Our plan for change will cut waiting lists from a maximum of 18 months to 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament.”

At the heart of the plan is a new gold standard retail offer with compulsory ‘customer service' training for non-clinical frontline staff like receptionists, and all acute hospitals must have a named patients' experience champion so those on the waiting list are kept fully up to date and supported with any wait for care.

It comes after hardworking NHS staff have already radically slashed the number of long-waiters since the pandemic, with the number waiting more than a year down by almost half since March 2021.

NHS Confederation chief executive, Matthew Taylor, said: “We have consistently argued that any plan to reduce waiting lists must align with the Government's direction of travel on NHS reform over the long term, so it's welcome that the elective plan attempts to do that.

“This marks a serious attempt to reduce waiting lists in a more sustainable way, including by empowering patients with better data and choice, redesigning pathways and increasing focus on advice and guidance which can help to deliver better outcomes for patients, and by investing in secondary prevention.

“NHS leaders share the Government's ambition to reduce waiting times and get more people off what have often become very lengthy waiting lists. They will now need to emerge from the 2025/26 planning round with confidence that they have the funding in place to deliver the levels of activity required to hit the 18-week target by the end of this Parliament.”

Healthwatch England chief executive, Louise Ansari, said: “We welcome this new plan's focus on better waiting experiences, and not just wait times. In our own ‘Patient Vision 2030' plan last year we had called for a focus on better trained admin staff and expansion of the NHS App, to ensure people got regular and informed updates on when they'd be seen, signposting to local support, and help to manage their condition while they waited for treatment.

“Overall, hospitals must tackle waiting lists in an equitable way – this relies on the NHS knowing who waits the longest, whether children, disabled people or those on low incomes, and taking action to address these inequalities.

“We now hope the urgency on tackling elective waits is extended to other areas such as mental health or GP appointments, within the upcoming 10-year health plan.”

Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices, said: “Tackling waiting lists is an obvious priority for both patients and the wider public, but with this announcement the Government is also making it clear that the overall experience of waiting, and the ability to make meaningful choices about our care is just as important. By getting this right, the NHS can put an end to people feeling lost on lists.

“At the heart of this, we must see the plan deliver routine public scrutiny of who is waiting longer than they should. Current research shows that women, Disabled people and people from ethnic minority backgrounds all wait longer for care, as do people living on lower incomes. The NHS needs to pay specific attention to fixing the equity gap if key commitments around improving healthy life expectancy are to be met.”

President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Dr Ranee Thakar said: “We are encouraged to see the Government's commitment to improving elective performance, and welcome the ambitious targets set out in this plan. We are all too aware of the impact that the wait for elective care is having on thousands of women in the UK, leaving them living in pain and distress.

“We look forward to the implementation of this plan alongside wider measures we hope to see in the NHS 10-year-plan which we hope will ensure equity of care for all women. This includes ensuring the women's health workforce across the system has the right support, time and funding to deliver the best care possible, and the widespread establishment of Women's Health Hubs across the country with the ongoing committed funding to maintain them.”

Adam Brimelow, director of communications at NHS Providers said: “NHS trust leaders are doing everything they can so that patients are seen as quickly as possible. Nobody in the NHS wants people to wait any longer than needed for vital checks, scans, and treatment. 

“Health leaders and their teams face huge challenges, but with the backing of this ambitious plan, they're determined to reduce delays while tackling health inequalities and empowering patients.”