Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay has written to the devolved administrations inviting them for talks to discuss how all parts of the UK can work together to tackle long-term waiting lists in all parts of the UK.

Barclay hopes to discuss lessons learnt from the different approaches taken across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Barclay said: "I hugely value being able to share knowledge and experiences on the joint challenges facing our healthcare systems. I want to support collaboration between our nations to share best practices, improve transparency and provide better accountability for patients.

"This will help to ensure we are joined up when it comes to cutting waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities – and will allow us to better work together to improve performance and get patients seen more quickly."

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