Abandon strikes or risk ‘fragile' NHS recovery, Streeting warns resident doctors
It comes as new data shows the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen for the second consecutive month to its lowest in more than two years.
However, the number of patients facing the longest waits increased, according to NHS figures.
An estimated 7.36 million treatments were waiting to be carried out in England at the end of May, relating to just under 6.23 million patients – down from 7.39 million treatments and just over 6.23 million patients at the end of April.
These are the lowest figures since March 2023 for treatments and April 2023 for patients.
The number of patients waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment also fell to 1,237 in May from 1,361 in April.
However, some 11,522 people were waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment, up from 9,258 in the previous month.
The number of patients waiting more than 52 weeks also increased for the second consecutive month – to 196,920, up from 190,068 at the end of April – after falling for 10 months in a row.
Some 2.7% of people on the waiting list for hospital treatment had been waiting more than 52 weeks in May, up from 2.6% in April.
The Government and NHS England have set a target of March 2026 for this figure to be reduced to less than 1%.
Earlier this week, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced resident doctors – formerly junior doctors – in England would walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on July 25.
Mr Streeting said the recovery of the health service 'is only just beginning, and it is fragile'.
'It is only with NHS staff and the Government working together that we can rebuild our NHS so it is there for patients once again,' he said.
'That is why I am once again urging the BMA to abandon their unreasonable rush to strike and work with us to improve resident doctors' working lives instead.'
Health chiefs also warned industrial action would jeopardise 'hard-won progress to cut waiting lists and efforts to see patients quicker'.
Previous strikes by resident doctors have taken place 11 times since 2022, leading to almost 1.5 million appointments being cancelled or rescheduled.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'These figures show NHS staff are working flat out to deliver more care to patients with waiting lists falling and tests, checks and treatments soaring despite record levels of demand.
'Trust leaders now face the bleak prospect of a full five-day walkout by resident doctors jeopardising this hard-won progress to cut waiting lists and efforts to see patients quicker.
'The focus now will be on planning to ensure services are as safe as possible for patients.'
Elsewhere, data shows 75.5% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, up slightly from 75.4% in May.
The Government and NHS England have set a target of March 2026 for 78% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours.
The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments from a decision to admit to actually being admitted – so-called 'corridor care' – fell to 38,683 in June, down from 42,891 in May.
The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission also fell, standing at 118,171 in June, down from 130,035 in May.
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England's co-national medical director (secondary care), said: 'This continued recovery has been a national effort across the health service and it would – of course – be hugely disappointing if this progress were to stall this summer due to industrial action.'
The latest monthly NHS performance figures come a month after the Government unveiled its 10-year plan, which will aim to shift more care from hospitals into the community, with a focus on better use of technology and sickness prevention.
Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: 'The NHS is not broken but it is in a critical condition, so the scale of the Government's ambitions are welcome and necessary.
'What we need to see now is concrete action to transform how care is delivered.'
However, Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at the King's Fund, said: 'The details in the Government's 10-year plan for health are too vague to assess what gradual improvements we will see in data for other important areas like how long we wait in A&E or for an ambulance if someone has a stroke, or for psychological treatments.
'In the coming months and years, the Government will need to be honest with the public over what trade-offs we should expect in the care we receive as it sets about delivering on its planned reforms.
'Potential forthcoming industrial action can also impact patient care across a wide range of services, affecting how long patients wait and our mental and physical health.'
Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at Nuffield Trust, welcomed progress on waiting lists, but said 'there is an incredibly long way to go' to meet the 18-week target.
She added: 'Another round of resident doctor strikes this summer will inevitably have an impact on patients waiting for treatment and it will be harder for the Government to make headway on its 10-year plan for health while this dispute is rumbling on.'
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