In a speech outlining his five key priorities for 2023, prime minister Rishi Sunak has committed to reducing NHS waiting times.

Sunak acknowledged that waiting times in the NHS were too long and changes were needed: “But Covid has imposed massive new pressures and people are waiting too long for the care they need. We’re fixing that. But we need to do more.”

He said: “At a time when we’re putting record sums into the NHS and recruiting record numbers of Doctors and Nurses, healthcare professionals are still unable to deliver the care they want, and patients aren’t receiving the care they deserve. So we need to recognise that something has to change.”

Sunak claimed: “We will always protect the founding principle of an NHS free at the point of use”, but pointed out that patients should be in control and have as much choice as possible, including with the NHS using more independent capacity “if that’s what it takes to get patients quicker and better care”.

He also said that patients should be able to access more information and data in order to make more informed choices and hold services to account.

Sunak said: “Because high quality healthcare should be there for you wherever you live. And as the NHS works with professions to develop a workforce strategy early this year, I’ve asked them to consider how we can best support Doctors, Nurses, and other healthcare professionals, like pharmacists, to work more flexibly.

“We all share the same objective when it comes to the NHS: to continue providing high quality, responsive healthcare for generations to come. And that’s what we are going to deliver.”

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