The NHS has unveiled The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework, designed to deliver faster care for millions of patients.
According to the plans, 2.5 million fewer patients will be waiting more than 18 weeks to receive planned care; 190,000 more cancer patients will begin potentially lifesaving treatment within 2 months of their referral over next 3 years; and patients will get faster access to diagnostic tests and GP appointments.
The three-year roadmap sets out the NHS plan to get back to delivering against its constitutional standards on elective care.
Hospitals will be financially incentivised to ensure more patients are treated out of hospital, instead receiving the care they need from local neighbourhood teams and in community diagnostic centres.
The framework also sets targets to make sure 95 per cent of appointments after triage are available via the App.
Sir Jim Mackey, CEO of NHS England said: “For too long the NHS has been stuck in a doom-loop of not being able to properly plan beyond each financial year and responding to overly-bureaucratic processes that have stifled local leadership and innovation.
“We have to get out of the trap of short term thinking and break the cycle of ‘just about managing’.
“Today’s publication – the product of intensive work over the summer by the NHS leadership community – resets how the NHS works, aligns incentives to delivering more care and creates a clear route map by which the NHS can meet its commitments on improving access to care and get waiting times back to where patients want and need them to be.
“The NHS needs to win back the confidence of the patients and communities it serves – so starting from now, every provider across the NHS will be required to more carefully measure what patients are telling them about their experience of care and act swiftly to fix the things that matter to them.”
Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: “This is the bold change this government promised in our NHS. Our ambition is nothing short of the fastest turnaround in the history of the health service.
“Millions more patients will be treated on time, with better cancer outcomes and quicker access to GPs. The NHS will be brought into the digital age, and community care will be given the priority it deserves.
“Our plan is already delivering real change, with more than 5 million extra appointments, 2,500 more GPs, and waiting lists cut by 200,000 since we came into office. Through a combination of investment and relentless reform, we will make sure the NHS will be there for you when you need it once again.”
