Starmer says he is delivering on promise to fix NHS after appointments goal met
Figures showed that between July and November 2024 there were almost 2.2 million more appointments compared with the equivalent period in 2023.
The NHS is on the “road to recovery”, ministers claimed after meeting a pledge to deliver two million extra appointments.
Sir Keir Starmer said the Government knows “the job isn’t done” and promised further reforms to deliver faster treatment.
NHS England figures showed that between July and November 2024 there were almost 2.2 million more appointments compared with the equivalent period in 2023.
Some 62% of the additional activity was made up of outpatient appointments, 26% diagnostic tests and 12% elective operations.
The extra NHS appointments, delivered in part by extra evening and weekend working, means Labour’s manifesto commitment for two million a year was met seven months early.
The Prime Minister said: “This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about the cancer patients who for too long were left wondering when they’ll finally start getting their life-saving treatment.
“It’s about the millions of people who’ve put their lives and livelihoods on hold – waiting in pain and uncertainty as they wait for a diagnosis.
“We said we’d turn this around and that’s exactly what we’re doing – this milestone is a shot in the arm for our plan to get the NHS back on its feet and cut waiting times.
“But we’re not complacent and we know the job isn’t done.
“We’re determined to go further and faster to deliver more appointments, faster treatment and a National Health Service that the British public deserve as part of our plan for change.”
NHS England figures last week showed waiting lists dropped for the fourth consecutive month to their lowest figure since April 2023.
An estimated 7.46 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December in England, relating to 6.24 million patients – down from 7.48 million treatments and 6.28 million patients at the end of November.
The Government has announced an extra £40 million funding pot for trusts who make the biggest improvements in cutting waiting lists, with the money available for hospitals from next year to spend on capital projects.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said there were now around 160,000 fewer patients on waiting lists than when Labour took office in July last year.
“We have wasted no time in getting to work to cut NHS waiting times and end the agony of millions of patients suffering uncertainty and pain,” he said.
“Because we ended the strikes, invested in the NHS, and rolled out reformed ways of working, we are finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery.”
NHS England’s chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “Thanks to the hard work of staff and embracing the latest innovations in care, we treated hundreds of thousands more patients last year and delivered a record number of tests and checks, with the waiting list falling for the fourth month in a row.”
But she acknowledged “there is much more to do to slash waiting times for patients”.
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “The drive for more appointments is of course welcome but the silence on social care cannot be allowed to continue.
“Too many people have been tragically let down and left waiting in limbo.
“Until the Government gets a grip of social care, hospitals will remain overwhelmed, backlogged and it is the patients who will pay the price.”
