Plans to reduce waiting times so NHS 'doesn't go the way as Woolies', health secretary says

4 January 2025, 12:08 | Updated: 5 January 2025, 10:20

The prime minister is set to unveil plans to reduce NHS waiting times to 18 weeks before the end of parliament as part of efforts to ensure it does not "go the way of Woolies", the UK's health secretary has promised.

Wes Streeting told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that Sir Keir Starmer will set out a "wide range of reform" to modernise the struggling health service.

It comes amid the announcement that the NHS app is to receive a major upgrade which will let all patients receive test results, book follow-up appointments and even choose where to be treated.

The overhaul is part of the government's plan to slash waiting lists and wait times, and will "give working-class patients the same choice, control, and convenience as the wealthy receive," Mr Streeting said.

Mr Streeting told Sky News: "We want to reduce waiting times to 18 weeks by the end of the parliament. That's the NHS constitutional challenge.

"That is a big, tough challenge that the country's set for us - and the prime minister's holding me to account, as well as the public - to deliver.

"So, it is ambitious, it's not going to be easy, and that's why in today's newspapers and tomorrow, when the prime minister sets out the plan, you will see a wide range of reform we're putting in place to modernise the NHS to give it the tools to do the job, to bring it into the 21st century, so the NHS doesn't go the way of Woolies [Woolworths] and collapse, but is actually a service fit for the 21st century.

"And I do think it is that existential for the NHS, which is why both in opposition and now in government, we have placed such heavy emphasis on reform, not just investment."

Wider choice of providers offered via app

Patients have a legal right to choose their provider for treatments, yet fewer than a quarter recall being offered a choice, the Department of Health said.

Under new measures, patients will be offered a wider choice of providers and the app will help smooth out the booking process, it added.

Patients who need non-emergency elective treatments will be able to use the app to view and manage their appointments, choose from providers - including those in the independent sector - and book diagnostic tests.

They'll also be able to receive test results and choose the next step in their care, with options including remote consultations to surgery, where appropriate.

At present, just 8% of bookings after a referral are made via the NHS app or the Manage Your Referral website - but these online services will become the default route for patients to choose their care provider under the new proposals.