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“Labour has a bold plan to slash waiting times by temporarily ramping up partnerships with private providers. I’m urging the Prime Minister to use it.
“But, although vital, it would be just a short reprieve. My Labour government would give Britain its NHS back, through a decade long programme of renewal and reform, to make the health service fit for the future. No more sticking plaster politics.”
In a clear sign that he plans to align himself with the Blair era and reject the politics of Corbyn, the Labour leader highlighted his party’s plans to build bold partnerships with private hospitals.
Private hospitals currently operating under capacity
Private hospitals are operating under capacity at present, and Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has said such partnerships could see an additional 230,000 patients receiving treatment if their spare capacity was used for the NHS.
This is because the independent sector has the capacity to do 30 per cent more NHS work than they did before the pandemic, but this is not being used effectively.
This equates to an extra 230,000 patients a year.
Sir Keir has also promised to hand power and choice to patients across the UK through a new Take Back Control Act, and the establishment of a new National Care Service to tackle the social care crisis.
His call comes 13 years after David Cameron kicked off his party’s general election campaign by claiming he would “cut the deficit, not the NHS”.
New analysis shows NHS deterioration under Tories
But new analysis from Labour lays bare how on various measurements, the NHS has got worse over those 13 years in five areas.
First, a total of 7.2 million people are now waiting for treatment. Even before the pandemic this number was 4.6million, but when Labour left office it was just 2.6 million.
Second, four in 10 people attending A&E now wait more than four hours to be seen. Under Labour, 95 per cent of patients were seen in under four hours.
Third, a quarter of all patients admitted currently wait more than four hours to get onto a ward. Under Labour, fewer than one in 50 admitted patients faced waits of more than four hours.
Fourth, more than 1.3 million people are currently waiting more than a month to see their GP – and there are currently 4,500 fewer GPs in England than a decade ago.
And fifth, public satisfaction with the NHS is now at a 25-year low of 36 per cent. By the end of Labour’s time in office it was at a high of 70 per cent.
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