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There is concern among doctors and patient groups about the slow progress in improving hospital waiting times in England, as the NHS battles to bring down waiting times. The 18-week waiting time target, a key election pledge by Labour, has not been achieved since 2015. While there has been a slight improvement in the proportion of patients waiting less than 18 weeks since the election, the progress has been minimal.
An analysis conducted by BBC Verify on hospital trusts revealed that over a third of them are seeing a smaller share of patients within 18 weeks since the NHS improvement plan was introduced in January. The government, however, believes it is premature to judge the progress as slow, mentioning that the NHS only initiated the improvement plan in April, focusing previously on other priorities such as handling the longest waits.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting expressed optimism about the future progress in reducing waiting times, emphasizing the additional funding being injected into the NHS and the upcoming 10-year NHS plan. Despite the achievements made so far, including a drop in the total number of patients on the waiting list, Streeting acknowledged the significant challenge ahead and the need for more work to meet the 18-week target set for March 2029.
John Winnik, a 73-year-old grandfather from West Yorkshire, shared his experience of being on an NHS waiting list for nine months, with constant pain due to arthritis. Some NHS trusts have shown improvements in meeting the waiting time target, while others have faced challenges, indicating that efforts to reduce waiting times continue to be a work in progress nationwide
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