There will be a “serious reduction” in the number of people on NHS waiting lists after five years of a Labour government, Wes Streeting said, as the party pledged to “ramp up” weekend hospital appointments to cut the backlog.
Shadow health secretary Mr Streeting said he wanted wanted the maximum waiting times for operations down to 18 weeks by the end of a first term of Labour government.
He also said he wanted to go “as fast and as far as we can” to bring down the overall numbers waiting for NHS treatment.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the Prime Minister to fund more overtime for doctors and nurses to clear the appointments backlog, offering the party’s promise to end the non-dom tax status as a way to fund it.
Rishi Sunak is facing an uphill battle to meet his pledge to cut waiting lists by the end of the year.
NHS England data published last week showed a slight drop in the overall NHS waiting list for treatment, to 7.71 million treatments waiting to be carried out at the end of October, relating to 6.44 million patients.
This is down from the record 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients at the end of September.
Mr Sunak and other ministers have insisted that progress had been made before the impact of strike action.
Mr Streeting said he was “not going to create a hostage to fortune” by making a specific commitment on reducing the numbers on NHS waiting lists.
But he told told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I would hope that by the end of the first term of a Labour government we will have seen a serious reduction in NHS waiting lists.”
He said: “By the end of the first term of a Labour government, I would want the maximum waiting times for operations down to 18 weeks. That’s our commitment.
“In terms of the overall number on waiting lists, we will go as fast and as far as we can to bring those waiting lists, overall, down but we want to make sure that we get the waiting times down to 18 weeks by the end of the first term of a Labour government.”
He said he would be “depressed and furious” if the Government has not resolved the junior doctors pay dispute in England by the time of the general election.
But he again stressed that Labour would not be able to immediately meet the demand for a 35% rise made by the British Medical Association.
“I think we’ve got to see the road back to fair pay as a journey, not an event,” he said, because “the public finances are a complete mess”.
Sir Keir said Labour had a “fully-funded, NHS-backed plan to ramp up weekend appointments, clear the backlog and help give people their lives back”.
“There is one reason it’s not happening, and that’s a political choice by the Prime Minister to keep a tax loophole for the wealthiest.”
Labour said that more than half of hospitals close operating theatres at weekends, causing a four-fold drop in procedures compared to weekdays.
“While the Prime Minister schemes in Westminster, chasing down gimmicks to save his political skin, waiting lists are growing and the NHS heads into yet another winter crisis,” Sir Keir said.
“Some hospitals are already blazing the trail with weekend working, but need a government that backs them to unleash the full potential of our health service. The Prime Minister should put his pride and politics aside, change the rules protecting the wealthiest, and prioritise patients over non-doms.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Labour claim five different ideas can be ‘funded’ from scrapping one tax status – but there’s a limit to how many times even Rachel Reeves can copy and paste the same policy.
“Labour’s sums simply do not add up, and the shadow health secretary has already admitted it.”
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