Pledge of two million extra NHS appointments met

The federal government has met a key election pledge to ship two million further NHS appointments in England in its first 12 months, the prime minister has stated.

The goal was achieved between July and November final 12 months, when there have been nearly 2.2 million extra elective care appointments in comparison with the identical interval in 2023, the federal government stated.

That interval was affected by physician strikes, nonetheless, which might have suppressed the variety of out there appointments.

Sir Keir Starmer stated the “milestone is a shot within the arm for our plan to get the NHS again on its ft and lower ready occasions”, whereas Well being Secretary Wes Streeting stated there was nonetheless “a hell of much more to do”.

However Streeting denied the determine of two million extra appointments was affected by the earlier Conservative authorities’s insurance policies.

“Have a look at the dimensions of the ready lists general. It is come down 4 months in a row. That is progress, however there’s nonetheless much more to do,” he advised the In the present day programme on BBC Radio 4.

Delivering an additional two million NHS operations, procedures and appointments a 12 months in England was a central Labour manifesto pledge – and was included in a listing of six first steps it could soak up workplace.

The extra appointments have been delivered partially by further night and weekend working, the federal government stated.

Elective care covers a broad vary of deliberate, non-emergency providers, from diagnostic exams and scans to outpatient appointments, surgical procedures and most cancers remedy.

There have been 31.3 million operations, appointments and exams between July and November 2024, in comparison with 29.1 million over the identical interval in 2023, throughout which there have been over a dozen days of junior docs strikes.

The figures for the 12 months as much as July 2025, a 12 months on from the election, will probably be carefully scrutinised to see if this pattern and the pledge have been borne out.

Ministers stated NHS England knowledge confirmed the manifesto dedication had been meet seven months early.

Sir Keir stated the federal government was “not complacent” and is aware of “the job is not carried out”, as he promised additional reforms to ship quicker remedy.

He unveiled plans in January to sort out the NHS backlog, which is among the authorities’s key missions.

The federal government has introduced an additional £40m in funding for trusts who make the most important enhancements in slicing ready lists, with the cash out there for hospitals from subsequent 12 months to spend on capital tasks.

Well being Secretary Wes Streeting stated the NHS was “on the highway to restoration” and there have been now round 160,000 fewer sufferers on ready lists than when Labour took workplace in July final 12 months.

NHS England figures confirmed final week that the variety of folks on the ready checklist dropped for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest since April 2023.

An estimated 6.24 million sufferers have been ready for 7.46 million therapies to be carried out on the finish of December in England – down from 6.28 million sufferers needing 7.48 million therapies in November.

Nevertheless, the newest figures present 73% of A&E sufferers have been handled or assessed inside 4 hours in England in January – properly in need of the 95% goal and a key benchmark of A&E efficiency.

And the numbers of A&E sufferers enduring lengthy waits went up in January, with practically 160,000 ready longer than 4 hours for a mattress to be discovered after a choice to confess them – many on chairs or trolleys.

The federal government’s announcement on its election pledge comes as a report by the King’s Fund thinktank highlighted inefficiency within the NHS system in England.

It features a ballot of greater than 1,600 individuals who had used the well being service within the earlier 12 months.

One in 5 of these surveyed stated they obtained a letter for an appointment after the date it was alleged to happen.

Nevertheless, practically 1 / 4 stated they didn’t know who to contact whereas ready for care.

Liberal Democrat well being spokeswoman Helen Morgan stated: “Till the federal government will get a grip of social care, hospitals will stay overwhelmed, backlogged and it’s the sufferers who pays the worth.”

She added: “Too many individuals have been tragically let down and left ready in limbo.”

Streeting has beforehand defended the federal government’s timescale for reforming grownup social care in England, with proposals on its long-term funding unlikely to be delivered earlier than 2028.