NHS England bosses were reportedly concerned about Starmer’s promise to cut waiting lists
NHS bosses are said to be privately concerned about Keir Starmer’s ambitious targets to cut waiting lists for routine operations, which will be announced later this week and will also include specific targets on living standards and housing development.
The Prime Minister is expected to set a target on Thursday for 92% of routine surgeries and appointments to be carried out within 18 weeks, a target that has not been achieved in almost a decade, the Times reports.
In Rachel Reeves’ October budget, the chancellor promised an extra £22 billion for the NHS to help reduce waiting times. A source at the Department of Health and Social Care denied that any specific concerns had already been raised by NHS England leadership about the planned targets.
No ten insiders have said that the new numerical targets, while risky, are a necessary recognition that Starmer’s ‘missions’ he set out in the run-up to the election were too conceptual for most people.
The Prime Minister will abandon rhetoric about achieving the highest growth in the G7, in favor of specific promises on a pledge to increase real disposable income. He will also recommit to a plan to build 1.5 million affordable homes and measurably improve the school readiness of preschoolers.
The Times reported this that the NHS commitments concerned health bosses who had suggested to the ministry that this would mean cuts in other areas including emergency care, community care and mental health.
Simon Stevens, former head of NHS England, told the House of Lords last week that mental health care was at particular risk: “At a time when there will, understandably, be great political focus on waiting times for physical health care and routine operations, the most likely outcome, in the absence of that investment standard for mental health care, would be that mental health care goes bankrupt at a time when other things are being prioritized.”
The Times reported that health bosses had specific concerns about the mental health investment standard – the NHS’s pledge to increase mental health spending by at least as much as the overall budget rises – which may now not be met.
In Labour’s pre-election pledges, the party said it would recruit 8,500 more mental health staff in its first term and reduce waiting times for people needing healthcare.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden denied Starmer’s speech on Thursday was a reset after a rocky start for Labor in government.
“What we are doing this week is putting together a plan for change in the coming years to tell the public what the key priorities are in these areas, but also to drive the government system, because the truth is you have to drive the system. if you are going to do something for the people,” he told Sky News.
“We are announcing what we want to do to get children ready for school, reduce NHS waiting lists and give more people the chance to own their own home.”