Pledge of 2m extra NHS appointments met, PM argues

A key election pledge to deliver two million extra NHS appointments in its first year in power, the prime minister has said.

The government says the target was achieved between July and November last year, when there were almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period in 2023.

This was compared with the same period in 2023, when the number of appointments would have been affected by doctors strikes at the time.

Sir Keir Starmer said the "milestone is a shot in the arm for our plan to get the NHS back on its feet and cut waiting times", while NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard, said there was "much more to do to slash waiting times for patients".

Delivering an extra two million NHS operations, procedures and appointments a year in England was a central Labour manifesto pledge - and was included in a list of six first steps it would take in office.

The additional appointments were delivered in part by extra evening and weekend working, the government said.

Elective care covers a broad range of planned, non-emergency services, from diagnostic tests and scans to outpatient appointments, surgeries and cancer treatment.

There 31.3 million operations, appointments and tests between July and November 2024, compared to 29.1 million over the same period in 2023, during which there were over a dozen days of junior doctors strikes.

It said NHS England data showed the manifesto commitment had been meet seven months early.

Sir Keir Starmer said the government was "not complacent" and knows "the job isnt done", as he promised further reforms to deliver faster treatment.

He unveiled plans in January to tackle the NHS backlog, which is one of the governments key missions.

The government has announced an extra £40m in funding for trusts who make the biggest improvements in cutting waiting lists, with the money available for hospitals from next year to spend on capital projects.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS was "on the road to recovery" and there were now around 160,000 fewer patients on waiting lists than when Labour took office in July last year.

NHS England figures showed last week that the number of people on the waiting list dropped for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest since April 2023.

An estimated 6.24 million patients were waiting for 7.46 million treatments to be carried out at the end of December in England - down from 6.28 million patients needing 7.48 million treatments in November.

However, the latest figures show 73% of A&E patients were treated or assessed within four hours in England in January - well short of the 95% target and a key benchmark of A&E performance.

And the numbers of A&E patients enduring long waits went up in January, with nearly 160,000 waiting longer than four hours for a bed to be found after a decision to admit them – many on chairs or trolleys.

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: "Until the government gets a grip of social care, hospitals will remain overwhelmed, backlogged and it is the patients who will pay the price."

She added: "Too many people have been tragically let down and left waiting in limbo."

Streeting has previously defended the governments timescale for reforming adult social care in England, with proposals on its long-term funding unlikely to be delivered before 2028.