The NHS app will refer patients to private hospitals to cut waiting times
Patients are encouraged to use the NHS app for private hospital bookings to reduce wait times.
According to The Times, patients are encouraged to use the app at dozens of private diagnostic centers that offer screening for cancer and other conditions, to speed up treatment and increase the capacity of the NHS.
The report said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believes that providing patients with more choices about how their local hospital performs will raise standards overall.
It is expected that in the coming weeks, Mr. Sunak will promote patient choice and make it the default setting for those referred for routine care. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer outlined his plan to improve the NHS in a speech on Monday.
An NHS that is not just on its knees but looking to the future with confidence.
A statement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “Reducing waiting lists is one of the Government’s top five priorities, with the NHS app playing a crucial role in giving patients more control over their own care and recovery after to support elective care.”
“We have already begun implementing the work of the Elective Recovery Taskforce and will shortly be releasing a full roadmap outlining how we can go further to unlock the independent sector to accelerate patient care and reduce waiting lists .”
Utilization of the NHS by independent sectors is up to 143% of pre-pandemic levels, but the department says they have reduced 18-month waiting times by 91% and two-year waiting times have been “virtually eliminated”.
Sir Keir’s speech addresses record numbers of people on waiting lists, putting pressure on Mr Sunak to present a timeline for improving NHS standards.
He will tell the audience that a Labor government will ‘deliver an NHS that’s there when you need it’, adding: ‘No stepping back, no excuses.’ We are living up to those standards again. We will get the NHS back on its feet.”
By reforming the NHS and training the staff needed, the party will pledge to meet the NHS targets within five years to ensure ambulances get to people in time to save lives, people seen by a GP if necessary and prevent people from being exposed to dangerous situations. Longer waiting times in the emergency room and shorter waiting times for hospital appointments when people need specialist care.
He will say, “We have a plan. We will fight for the NHS. We will fix the NHS. We will reform the NHS. Old values, new opportunities. Technology and science, convenience and control, renewal not decline.
“An NHS that is not just on its knees but looking to the future with confidence.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/nhs-rishi-sunak-keir-starmer-labour-the-times-b1082682.html The NHS app will refer patients to private hospitals to cut waiting times
