More patients to be able to skip NHS waiting lists – if they can travel for treatment
Thousands of patients stuck on NHS waiting lists could be offered treatment much sooner at another facility – as long as they are willing and able to travel.
As part of government efforts to bring down record waiting lists for healthcare, the NHS is expanding its new online “matching” platform to offer more patients quicker treatment in a hospital or facility run by the independent sector anywhere in the UK.
NHS waiting lists stood at 7.47 million at the end of May, the highest number since records began in 2007.
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The government is turning to the private sector in an attempt to cut NHS waiting lists.
The “matching” system was initially introduced just for patients needing hospital admission, but it is now being expanded to include cancer, diagnostic checks, and outpatient appointments.
If the patient is willing and able to travel, clinicians will be able to upload their details to the system, and then other NHS facilities or private providers will be able to “match” people to available slots.
If more than one provider offers treatment, the patient will be given the choice of where to go based on factors such as the distance of travel.
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Since the system first launched in January, more than 1,700 offers of support have been made – although it is unclear how many patients have benefitted.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said in a statement that “incredible progress” has been made tackling the vast waiting lists for treatment “despite significant pressure on services”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay pictured on a visit to a medical centre in Nottingham in June
She said that this “smart new tool” shows “the benefits of having a national health service”, and added: “Technology is already transforming the way we work in the NHS and we will continue to embrace the latest innovations, like this one, to deliver the best possible for care for patients.”
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the expansion of this system “will help us to deliver thousands more diagnostic checks for major conditions and offer people treatment sooner – often without the need to go to hospital”.
He added: “We are using all tools at our disposal to bring down waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities – while this platform will also help us to drive better collaboration across the NHS and the independent sector to treat patients more quickly.”
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made cutting NHS waiting lists one of his five priorities in a speech he gave in January – but last month, he said industrial action in the health service had made his mission “more challenging”.
Analysis by Sky News carried out in May found that the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment is 186 times higher than before the pandemic began.
Junior doctors and consultants are set to take further industrial action this month
At the end of February, 300,000 people in England had been waiting for more than a year since being referred by a consultant. Two years ago, in February 2020, that figure was below 2,000.
Junior doctors are currently preparing for another four-day strike beginning on 11 August, while consultants are set to walk out for 48 hours from 24 August in an ongoing dispute with the government over pay and working conditions.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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