Labour pledges to clear backlog of patients waiting over 18 weeks within five years

Labour will pledge to clear the backlog of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment within five years of government if the party gets into power.

Making the announcement in the West Midlands on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer will promise to “take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS so patients in every part of the country can be treated on time”.

Measures will include doubling the number of scanners to diagnose patients sooner, using spare capacity in the private sector without charging patients, and delivering what Labour claims will be “the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history”.

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The policies build on one of the party’s so-called “first steps” for government, which includes introducing an extra 40,000 appointments a week into the NHS, provided by staff working overtime and paid for by a crackdown on tax avoiders.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror on Tuesday night, Sir Keir said hospitals will be told to start establishing both weekend and evening clinics “on day one” if his party wins the general election on 4 July.

And those who perform well will be sent to other hospitals around the country to show them best practice in an effort to cut down record waiting lists – which currently see more than seven million people waiting for treatment.

Sir Keir said: “The NHS is personal to me. It runs through my family.

“That’s why I’m utterly committed to reforming this service, getting the NHS back on its feet, and making it fit for the future.”