Wes Streeting: ‘I won't shrink away from opening NHS to private sector'

Telegraph

16 hours ago

Wes Streeting has said he will not rule out leaning more heavily on the private sector to cut NHS backlogs.
The Health Secretary said he 'refused to be bound by outdated ideological battles', saying using independent hospitals to provide taxpayer-funded care did not contradict the principles of the health service.
Writing for The Telegraph, below, he said he would fight for the future of the NHS, warning of a 'national emergency' facing the country.
He made the comments as new figures showed that almost 1.4 million people have had private care on the NHS since Labour won the election.
They include more than 500,000 patients – more than the population of Liverpool – who have received such treatment since an agreement to 'turbocharge' such efforts was published in January.
The deal with the independent sector, announced by Sir Keir Starmer, offers vacant private care appointments to NHS patients while keeping treatment free at the point of use.
Officials have pushed the services particularly in parts of the country that have some of the longest waits and lowest levels of private healthcare uptake.
The biggest surge in the use of the private sector by the NHS came in the North East and Yorkshire, followed by the South East and North West.
Mr Streeting, a survivor of kidney cancer, said the NHS saved his life and he is now fighting to make sure it is there for others.
He said: 'Millions are waiting in limbo for treatment that could transform their lives.
'Behind the staggering six million people on waiting lists are real human stories. Parents missing work to care for children in pain. Grandparents unable to play with grandchildren. People forced to take sick days that threaten their livelihoods. This isn't just a statistic – it's a national emergency.
'That's why I refuse to be bound by outdated ideological battles when confronting this crisis. My priority is simple. And in my effort to get there, I won't shrink away from using the independent sector to get NHS patients seen faster.'
On Wednesday, the NHS was declared 'the big winner' from the Government's spending review, with a record cash injection of £29 billion a year.
Mr Streeting stressed: 'Money alone won't fix this. We need reform too.'
The Government is expected to go further in its use of the private sector, as it prepares to draw up a 10-year plan for the NHS, which promises three major shifts – from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from treating sickness to prevention.
Mr Streeting said it was 'nonsense' to suggest that using the private sector was at odds with NHS principles.
'What contradicts NHS principles is letting people suffer unnecessarily when capacity exists to treat them. The treatment remains free at the point of use – that's what matters,' he said.
The Health Secretary said it was 'ambitious but essential' that the NHS meets its target of ensuring that 92 per cent of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. It has not been achieved since 2015.
The independent sector agreement, launched in January this year, is part of an NHS Elective Reform Plan to clear waiting backlogs, especially in the most challenged specialities.
'Going further than New Labour'
Before the election, Mr Streeting said a new Labour government would 'go further than New Labour ever did' in use of the private sector for NHS patients.
'If you want to understand my appetite for reform, think New Labour on steroids,' he said in a speech in May 2024.
Tony Blair's New Labour government funded a network of 30 private clinics carrying out operations and tests for NHS patients between 2003 and 2010.
It also introduced patient choice, allowing patients to opt for care in a private hospital.
However, the drive divided the Labour party and lost momentum.
Polling from YouGov shows strong support for the Independent Sector agreement, with 70 per cent of the public showing strong support for the NHS using the private sector to clear the backlog.
The most common procedures delivered through the independent sector are ophthalmology (23.8 per cent of all treatments), trauma and orthopaedics (20.9 per cent) and dermatology (14.9 per cent).
Mark Cubbon, the director of elective care, cancer and diagnostics at NHS England, said: 'Independent sector providers play an important role in supporting NHS efforts to get patients the care they need quicker, with the latest figures showing record numbers of treatments are being carried out.
'NHS use of the private sector has risen significantly since 2021, and our new partnership agreement will help us go even further to widen access to treatment for thousands of patients.'
'Pivotal role in NHS's recovery'
David Hare, the chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network said: 'These figures demonstrate that independent providers are playing a pivotal role in the NHS's elective recovery, helping ensure patients can get the treatment they need – all free at the point of use and paid for at NHS prices.
'But with so much more still to do to once again meet the NHS's 18-week target by March 2029, it's vital that local NHS areas build on this progress and ensure that they make full use of existing and potential capacity in the sector to give patients greater choice and access to the care they need.'
Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, welcomed the announcement. She said: 'Patients waiting for treatment tell us they feel like their lives are on hold, while facing real hardship, uncertainty and pain.'
Analysis from the Independent Health Providers Network has shown that 96 per cent of people in England live within 30 minutes' driving distance of an independent provider that delivers NHS treatment.
Using private help contradicts NHS principles? What nonsense
By Wes Streeting
I know what it's like to sit in a doctor's office and hear the word 'cancer'. The gut punch. The fear. The questions about what happens next – and crucially, how quickly.
Yet millions are waiting in limbo for treatment that could transform their lives. Behind the staggering six million people on waiting lists are real human stories. Parents missing work to care for children in pain. Grandparents unable to play with grandchildren. People forced to take sick days that threaten their livelihoods.
This isn't just a statistic – it's a national emergency.
That's why I refuse to be bound by outdated ideological battles when confronting this crisis. My priority is simple. And in my effort to get there, I won't shrink away from using the independent sector to get NHS patients seen faster.
Between January and April alone, over 500,000 people received vital treatments through our partnership with independent healthcare providers – the equivalent of treating the entire population of Liverpool in just four months. These aren't abstract numbers. They're people getting life-changing hip replacements, knee surgeries and cancer treatments.
Some ask whether using private capacity contradicts NHS principles. Nonsense. What contradicts NHS principles is letting people suffer unnecessarily when capacity exists to treat them. The treatment remains free at the point of use – that's what matters.
The independent healthcare sector won't affect this principle, and so it would be foolish to turn it away when we so desperately need it in certain specialities. But at the same time, we must see it for what it is.
The spending review has delivered proper investment in our NHS with nearly £29 billion in additional funding. But money alone won't fix this. We need reform too.
The results of our Plan for Change are already showing. Waiting lists have fallen to their lowest level in two years, marking the first April drop since 2008. We're finally heading in the right direction to creating an NHS Fit for Future.
Our Plan for Change sets out the clear milestone: meeting the NHS standard where 92 per cent of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. It's ambitious but essential.
Cancer taught me that time is precious. When you're waiting for treatment, every day matters. That's why I won't waste a single day, or a single available appointment slot, in our mission to give patients the care they deserve.
The NHS saved my life. Now I'm fighting to ensure it's there – on time – to save yours.