'Our plan to rebuild the NHS is working' says Keir Starmer as Sheffield NHS waiting lists drop drastically
Waiting lists at hospitals in Sheffield and Rotherham are falling three times faster than the national average, according to a new NHS England evaluation of a government-backed programme aimed at cutting treatment delays in areas with high economic inactivity.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust are among 20 trusts included in the Further Faster 20 (FF20) programme, which deployed specialist NHS teams to help reduce backlogs and increase productivity.
Last year, Wes Streeting announced that “crack teams” of leading clinicians would be sent to hospitals in areas of the country with the highest levels of economic inactivity as part of a Government bid to boost employment.
These senior doctors were drafted in to 20 areas in England to implement reforms aimed at getting patients treated faster in parts of England with the biggest numbers of people out of work due to ill health.
Now the Government has reported back on the project, saying that waiting lists in the targeted areas have fallen three times faster than the national average.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that learning from the project – such as “Formula 1 style surgery,” where surgical theatres operate continuously to bring down waiting lists and streamline unnecessary appointments – would be taken to the rest of the NHS.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the results showed progress in tackling delays in care.
“Every name stuck on a waiting list is a life on hold while someone waits for the treatment they need,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“That means being trapped in limbo for weeks or months – leaving people to face constant health worries, missed time with family and friends, or falling out of work.”
He said the government’s approach was aimed at spreading innovation across the health service.
“Everyone should benefit from the incredible innovation and expertise within our health service – not just those who won the postcode lottery,” Mr Starmer said.
“That’s why this government has sent in top quality teams to the places most in need, helping slash waiting lists in these hospitals three times faster than the national average.”
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Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the initiative showed early signs of improvement.
“We said our Elective Reform Plan would get waiting lists down, and one year on that’s exactly what it’s delivering,”Mr Streeting said.
“By sending crack teams into hospitals to supercharge care, opening more Community Diagnostic Centres longer and later, and cutting wasteful spending, we’re turning the tanker round and patients are starting to feel the difference.”
The findings come one year after the launch of the government’s Elective Reform Plan, which aims to return the NHS to its target of treating 92% of patients within 18 weeks by the end of the parliament.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, since July 2024 the overall waiting list has fallen by more than 225,000, despite 28.4 million referrals during that period.
Mr Starmer said the government believed the programme showed its plans were beginning to work.
“There’s a long way to go but this is further proof that our plan to rebuild the NHS is working,” he said.