https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/02/cut-nhs-waiting-lists-keir-starmer

NHS bosses are said to be privately concerned about Keir Starmer’s ambitious targets to cut waiting lists for routine operations, set to be announced later this week, which will also include specific targets on living standards and housebuilding.

The prime minister is expected on Thursday to set a target for 92% of routine operations and appointments in England to be carried out within 18 weeks by March 2029 – a goal that has not been achieved in almost a decade – the Times has reported.

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Most NHS trust bosses doubt the health service can restore key waiting times by 2029. A recent survey by the hospitals body NHS Providers found that 71% of the leaders overall, and 100% of those who run acute and ambulance trusts, thought it unlikely that they could make such progress that quickly.

The Society for Acute Medicine (SAM), which represents hospital doctors, said Starmer’s desire for a return to 92% of patients waiting a maximum of 18 weeks, four months before the end of this parliament, was “doomed” unless overstretched NHS urgent and emergency care services, such as A&E and ambulance services, were dramatically improved.

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/02/cut-nhs-waiting-lists-keir-starmer