On 13th of January, I was delighted to welcome the Government’s plan to tackle the local NHS backlog of 57,156 patients who have been waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment.
Hundreds of thousands more appointments in the East of England will be created to allow people to access the treatment they so need far more quickly. These reforms mark next step in delivering the Government’s Plan for Change to deliver for working people.
Under the Suffolk and Northeast Essex Integrated Care Board, which includes Ipswich Hospital, 133,026 people are on a waiting list, with 57,156 of those waiting for more than 18 weeks. This is, of course, far too many.
Tackling this backlog, left to spiral under the previous government, is a key milestone in the Government’s Plan for Change. Restoring this standard will mean patients in Ipswich no longer must have their lives put on hold waiting for appointments and surgeries, or having to make do with referrals to hospitals they don't choose at inconvenient times, all whilst appointments and staff time are being lost to inefficiencies or inconsistencies in care.
The Government’s Elective Reform Plan, published this week by NHS England, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. This includes opening Community Diagnostic Centres on evenings and weekends so that many more people will be able to access tests and checks while going about their daily lives, and increasing the number of surgical hubs, which help protect planned care from the impact of seasonal and other pressures.
The plan will drive forward progress on the Government’s 'first steps' commitment to deliver 2 million extra appointments by this July, equivalent to 40,000 every week.
Under the plan, 65% of patients will be treated within 18 weeks by the end of next year. Based on the size of the current waiting list, which would mean a fall of more than 450,000 people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
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