The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hopes to create 2 million more appointments
But as Oliver Leader de Saxe has been finding out GPs and Medway residents aren't convinced that the government is going far enough to help those currently waiting months on end.
But as Oliver Leader de Saxe has been finding out GPs and Medway residents aren't convinced that the government is going far enough to help those currently waiting months on end.
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00:00This is the year we roll up our sleeves and reform the NHS, a new era of convenience in
00:06care, faster treatment at your fingertips, patients in control and NHS fit for the future.
00:15A big promise in the Prime Minister's first big speech of the year.
00:19Today Sakir Starmer outlined plans to cut the NHS backlog that has left millions across the UK
00:28waiting for an appointment, including here in Medway.
00:32Yeah I had to wait quite a few months for a replacement.
00:37I've had a condition for the last 13 years that I've just been pushed from pillar to post.
00:44Neurology is horrendous, there's at least a two-year waiting list.
00:51I've just got on through the pain management after a year's waiting list so
00:56it just goes on and on and on. You just feel like you're banging your head against a wall.
01:01You know I had elderly parents, unfortunately they're both dead now but
01:07while they were alive it was not a nice thing to have to go into hospital
01:13and see them wait for hours to get attended to.
01:19To cut the backlog, community diagnostic centres will be open for longer alongside new surgical
01:28hubs. GPs will be offered cash to discuss with doctors whether patients can be treated outside
01:35hospital and patients will be provided more choice over where they'll be treated.
01:41Currently there's 7.5 million people on NHS waiting lists and the government wants to
01:48get those numbers down by the end of next year. They want about 65% of people to be seen
01:54within 18 weeks but those numbers to some medical professionals feel a tad ambitious.
02:03I think they've got to do something and I can see where they're going. I do have some doubts as to
02:10whether it's going to work as well as they think. It's very dependent on having extra capacity
02:16and that's both having beds in hospitals, rooms in GP practices and additional staff because if
02:21you're going to do additional consultations you need additional doctors, nurses and so on to carry
02:26that out. Where is the workforce going to come from to do this extra work in the community and
02:33also the estates. General practice particularly has huge problems with its estates, not enough
02:39rooms to even get the current staffing let alone the additional staff to run these hubs.
02:45Doctors divided but with the government hoping to provide 2 million extra appointments in its first
02:53year, change cannot come fast enough for those on Kent's waiting lists.
03:00Oliver, these are the stats for KMTV in Medway.