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• Pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments hit early with over 100,000 more treatments, tests and scans for patients each week
• Waiting lists falls by almost 160,000 since government took office, as extra appointments delivered for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopy, and diagnostic tests
• Comes as an additional 拢40 million set to be handed to trusts that deliver biggest improvements in cutting waiting lists
• Marks major step towards delivering Plan for Change milestone of hitting 18-week treatment target by the end of this Parliament

Over two million extra NHS appointments including for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopy, and diagnostic tests delivered as government delivers first step to fix the NHS seven months early.聽

The Prime Minister has welcomed new figures published by NHS England [today] which reveal that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2 million聽more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year - delivering on the government鈥檚 mission to fix the NHS as part of the Plan for Change.聽

The new data confirms the government reached the target seven months earlier than promised 鈥� with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.

It follows聽figures published last week which showed the waiting list has been cut by almost 160,000 since the government took office, compared to a rise of almost 33,000 over the same period the previous year.聽

It means thousands of patients have received vital operations, scans, treatments, and consultations earlier than planned, helping them get back on with their lives and back to work sooner.

The extra 2 million appointments - delivered in part by extra evening and weekend working -聽are underpinned by the government鈥檚 ambitious wider reform agenda, including our聽plan to expand opening hours at Community Diagnostic Centres across the country, 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The government鈥檚 mission to build an NHS fit for the future starts with tackling waiting lists, and hitting this milestone is a crucial step towards treating 92% of elective care patients within 18 weeks of referral by the end of this Parliament - delivering a core commitment in the Plan for Change.聽聽

While there is more to do, today鈥檚 milestone also clears the path to bring forward wider NHS reforms through the government鈥檚 Elective Reform Plan - announced by the Prime Minister last month - which will cut waiting times and improve patient experience by getting people seen more quickly, closer to home.聽

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:聽

聽鈥淭wo million extra NHS appointments and a waiting list on its way down 鈥� we鈥檙e delivering on our promise to fix the NHS and make sure people get the care they need, when they need it.聽

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just about numbers. It鈥檚 about the cancer patients who for too long were left wondering when they鈥檒l finally start getting their life-saving treatment. It鈥檚 about the millions of people who鈥檝e put their lives and livelihoods on hold - waiting in pain and uncertainty as they wait for a diagnosis.

鈥淲e said we鈥檇 turn this around and that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e doing - this milestone is a shot in the arm for our plan to get the NHS back on its feet聽and cut waiting times.

鈥淏ut we鈥檙e not complacent and we know the job isn鈥檛 done.聽We鈥檙e determined to go further and faster to deliver more appointments, faster treatment, and a National Health Service that the British public deserve as part of our Plan for Change.鈥澛�

Since entering office, the government has hit the ground running to fix the broken health service we inherited by tackling the waiting lists, and building an NHS fit for the future.聽

This includes ending NHS strikes so staff are on the front line instead of the picket line this winter, vaccinating more people against flu than this time last year and putting immediate investment into our health system through 拢1.8 billion to fund extra elective care appointments as part of record 拢26 billion extra NHS funding secured at the October Budget.鈥�聽��

Building on this, the government has announced an extra 拢40 million funding pot for trusts who make the biggest improvements in cutting waiting lists.聽The funding will be available for hospitals from next year to spend on capital projects such as new equipment or repairs to their estate which can deliver faster access to treatment and improve conditions for patients.聽

Further details on the scope and allocation of the funding package will be set out in due course, but examples of the innovations that trusts will be able to benefit from include investment into new tech such as surgical robots and AI scanners to modernise the NHS and help patients get diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible.

The funding could also go towards completing hospital ward maintenance 鈥� expediting the transformation of ageing NHS estates and giving patients newer, safer environments in which to receive care.聽

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

鈥淲e have wasted no time in getting to work to cut NHS waiting times and end the agony of millions of patients suffering uncertainty and pain.

鈥淏ecause we ended the strikes, invested in the NHS, and rolled out reformed ways of working, we are finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery.

鈥淲e promised change, and we鈥檝e delivered, providing the two million extra appointments we pledged in just our first five months 鈥� a promise made, and a promise kept. The result is around 160,000 fewer patients on waiting lists today than in July.

鈥淭hat was just the first step. Through our Plan for Change, we are opening new surgical hubs, Community Diagnostics Centres at evenings and weekends, and using private sector capacity to cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.鈥�

Amanda Pritchard NHS chief executive said:聽

鈥淭hanks to the hard work of staff and embracing the latest innovations in care, we treated hundreds of thousands more patients last year and delivered a record number of tests and checks, with the waiting list falling for the fourth month in a row.

鈥淭here is much more to do to slash waiting times for patients, but the Elective Care Reform Plan will allow us to build on this incredible progress as we boost capacity and drive efficiency while also improving the experience of patients.鈥�

The Elective Reform Plan will drive forward action to meet the 18-week target through the necessary reforms to overhaul the system, support staff, cut waste and put patients first 鈥� creating millions more appointments in the process. As part of this, the government is creating thousands more appointments through greater access to Community Diagnostic Centres and 17 new or expanded surgical hubs.聽聽

The Community Diagnostic Centres will be opened 12 hours a day, seven days a week wherever possible so that people can access a broader range of more appointments closer to home in their neighbourhoods. These will increase the availability of same-day tests and consultations so that patients don鈥檛 have to wait for weeks in between different stages of care.聽聽

The surgical hubs will be also created within existing hospitals by June and three others expanded, with more expected in coming years supported by the 拢1.5 billion investment confirmed at the Autumn budget.聽聽

These will bring together the necessary expertise, best practice, and tech under one roof to focus on delivering the most common, less complex procedures. The new hubs will be ring-fenced from winter pressures and will cut waiting聽times聽for standard surgeries, in turn freeing up beds in acute wards needed for more complex cases.聽

Other elements of the plan include freeing up around 1 million more appointments every year by removing non-essential follow-ups, publishing a new deal with the independent sector to increase capacity, revolutionising the NHS app to give patients greater choice and control over their treatment and preventing unnecessary referrals by incentivising GPs to work with hospital doctors to get specialist advice.聽

The government has also launched a nationwide consultation on the 10 Year Health Plan to build an NHS fit for the future and secured an extra 拢2 billion to upgrade NHS technology and 拢1 billion to deal with the massive NHS maintenance backlog.聽

As part of a drive towards prevention, NHS England have also launched its first-ever awareness campaign today to support more women to attend potentially lifesaving breast screening. The campaign, supported by leading charity Breast Cancer Now, launches today with a new advert across TV, on demand and radio to highlight the benefits of screening in detecting cancer at the earliest opportunity.聽

Last year alone, NHS breast screening services detected cancers in 18,942 women across England, which otherwise may not have been diagnosed or treated until a later stage, and the most comprehensive review to date found around 1,300 deaths are prevented each year by the breast screening programme.