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The NHS delivered almost 2.2 million extra appointments during the first five months of the new government, according to new statistics.
Keir Starmer has claimed this as a major win for Labour, but acknowledged that the “job isn’t done” and promised to offer go further with reforms for the health service.
NHS England has revealed today that, between July 2024 and November 2024, patients received more than 100,000 additional treatments, tests and scans per week.
That works out to almost 2.2 million more appointments compared to the equivalent period in 2023.
Labour has therefore reached its target to offer two million more appointments a year seven months earlier than it previously planned, in part due to extra evening and weekend working from NHS employees.
Starmer said: “We’re delivering on our promise to fix the NHS and make sure people get the care they need, when they need it. ”
He added: “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.”
Data released by NHS England last week showed waiting lists have also reduced by almost 160,000 patients since the government was elected, after declining for four months in a row.
An estimated 7.46 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December in England, linked to 6.24 million patients.
That’s a drop from the 7.48 million treatments and 6.28 million patients waiting for care at the end of November.
It means Labour is on track to deliver its plan to treat 92% of elective care patients within 18 weeks of referral by the end this parliament.
The government has also given an extra £40 million to trusts who can make the largest improvements to cutting waiting lists. That money can go towards hospital ward maintenance.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said Labour is “finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery” after ending the strikes, investing in the health service and rolling out a reformed way of working.
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 also noted “there is much more to do to slash waiting times for patients”.
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