Millions of patients will be able to access more appointments closer to home as part of a new plan to tackle hospital backlogs and get the treatment they need quicker.

As part of the governments Plan for Change, the NHS needs to tackle the 7.5 million waiting list and once again meet the 18 week standard for planned treatment. Reaching this goal will ensures that millions of patients access treatment faster and no longer need to put their lives on hold while waiting for an appointment.

Published today (6th January) by NHS England, the Elective Reform Plan sets out a holistic approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. More people will be able to use Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), and the NHS also aim to increase the number of surgical hubs to help protect planned care from the impact of seasonal and other pressures.

The plan builds upon the government’s first steps commitment to deliver two million additional appointments in its first year, which will provide 40,000 extra every week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This government promised change and that is what I am fighting every day to deliver.

“NHS backlogs have ballooned in recent years, leaving millions of patients languishing on waiting lists, often in pain or fear. Lives on hold. Potential unfulfilled.

“This elective reform plan will deliver on our promise to end the backlogs. Millions more appointments. Greater choice and convenience for patients. Staff once again able to give the standard of care they desperately want to.

“This is a key plank of our Plan for Change, which will drive growth that puts more money in people’s pockets, secures our borders and makes the NHS fit for the future so that working people live longer, healthier, more prosperous lives.”

Opening CDCs for longer and introducing 17 new and expanded surgical hubs online will create an anticipated half a million more appointments annually. Having CDCs open for 12 hours a day and seven days a week will mean that people are able to access a wide range of appointments and services closer to home in their neighbourhoods, treating people quickly and conveniently outside of hospitals.

Other plans include increasing the availability of same-day tests and consultations, opening 14 new surgical hubs inside existing hospitals, preventing unnecessary referrals, and using the NHS app to allow patients greater choice and control over their treatment.

These initiatives will form a wider plan to treat 65 per cent of patients within 18 weeks by the end of next year, which could mean a decrease of more than 450,000 people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited record long waiting lists, impacting patients’ lives and their livelihoods. Only the combination of investment and radical reform can turn this around, as we’re setting out today.

“Our Plan for Change set an ambitious target to cut maximum wait times from 18 months to 18 weeks, and we will achieve it by bringing care closer to home and give patients more choice over their treatment.

“The NHS should work around patients’ lives, not the other way around. By opening community diagnostic centres on high streets 12 hours a day, seven days a week, patients will now be able to arrange their tests and scans for when they go to do their weekend shopping, rather than being forced to take time out of work.

The reforms we’re launching today will free up millions of appointments, so the NHS can be there for us when we need it once again.”