“Pain or private”: the choice patients will face under the Conservatives, as waiting lists look set to hit 10 million
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Conservative neglect of the NHS will leave increasing numbers of
patients forced to choose between waiting longer in pain or paying
to go private, Labour will warn today, as it sets out its plan to
end the Tory two-tier healthcare system. Rishi Sunak's claim that
the NHS had turned a corner was blown out of the water this week,
as waiting lists increased by 34,000. It represents the third month
in a row in which there was no fall. Waiting lists stand at 7.6
million, with 3.2...Request free trial
Conservative neglect of the NHS will leave increasing numbers of patients forced to choose between waiting longer in pain or paying to go private, Labour will warn today, as it sets out its plan to end the Tory two-tier healthcare system. Rishi Sunak's claim that the NHS had turned a corner was blown out of the water this week, as waiting lists increased by 34,000. It represents the third month in a row in which there was no fall. Waiting lists stand at 7.6 million, with 3.2 million waiting longer than what should be the maximum wait of 18 weeks for surgery. On current trends, if the Conservatives are given another five years in charge, NHS waiting lists are projected to hit 10 million. Under three different projections, assuming that NHS waiting lists will continue to grow at either the rate they have under Rishi Sunak, the past two years, or in the pre-pandemic period under the Conservatives from 2010-2019, waiting lists are set to increase to between 9 and 11 million. All three scenarios represent record lengths. Labour is warning that such a rise will force millions more patients to turn to private healthcare if they want to be seen on time. There was already a record number of patients forced to use private healthcare thanks to record-long NHS waiting lists. The total number of private inpatient admissions in 2023 was 898,000 (7% above 2022), more admissions than in any previous year on record. Patients without health insurance are shelling out £15,000 for hip replacements and £3,400 for cataract removal. The last Labour government significantly reduced use of the private sector, by expanding NHS capacity. In the market review by private healthcare market analysts, Laing & Buisson, analysing the final years of the last Labour government, CEO William Laing said: "This remarkable reduction in the privately funded share of elective surgery is not because private healthcare is in decline…. The main reason for the falling private share is that NHS funded elective surgery has been growing so much faster.” Labour's plan to repeat the success of the last Labour government and end the Tory two-tier healthcare system includes:
Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Rishi Sunak's claim that the NHS is turning a corner has been blown out of the water. The truth is that waiting lists are 350,000 longer than when he became Prime Minister and they're on the rise again. “If the Conservatives are given another five years in charge, waiting lists will hit 10 million, and more and more patients will be forced to pay to go private to get treated on time. That's the choice for patients under the Tories: pain or private? Patients face double taxation on health: they pay their taxes, and then pay the Tory health tax if they want to be treated on time. “Labour will never leave ordinary people to waiting longer, while there is capacity to treat them. The NHS will buy spare capacity in the private sector and pay for patients to be treated faster, free at the point of use. “In the long-run, we want to make the NHS so good, that no one ever needs to go private. That's what the last Labour government did - by the time we left office in 2010 use of the private sector had fallen off a cliff. We did it before and we will do it again. “We will provide an extra 40,000 appointments a week on evenings and weekends, so the NHS can be there for us all when we need it, paid for by clamping down on tax dodgers.” Ends Notes
Methodology: NHS waiting list over last two years
NHS waiting list since Rishi became PM
NHS waiting list pre-pandemic
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