Responding to today’s speech by the Prime Minister, in which he committed to ensuring 92% of patients would be treated in hospital within 18 weeks of referral, Professor Philip Banfield, BMA council chair, said:

“Doctors very much want to bring waiting lists down, and the Government must now back us and the rest of the NHS workforce to make it happen. 

“The Prime Minster may have underlined his commitment to meeting the 18-week target, but we now need clarity on how he expects the NHS and healthcare staff to achieve it, and how the funding announced in the Budget will be used. 

“Previous messages about shifting care to the community, focusing on prevention and updating technology, are all laudable aims, but they come amid an ongoing staffing crisis, and as the Government has just heaped huge costs on to general practice in the Budget with national insurance contribution rises. GPs urgently need the Government to set out how practices are going to meet rising costs, or they will be forced to limit how much care they can be expected to provide outside of hospitals even more. 

“Making a dent in waiting lists will rely on the staff we have, going the extra mile again, as they do on a daily basis, so it’s concerning that we’re seeing repeated instances of hospitals unilaterally imposing reduced overtime rates for doctors. This is why we continue to call for a nationally negotiated approach to doctors’ pay for additional shifts for work such as waiting list initiatives and to avoid huge variation in rates between trusts. If the NHS is to provide an extra 40,000 appointments a week, all financial barriers to extra work need to be removed – including pension taxation and childcare allowances that leave doctors worse off for taking on additional hours. This is an investment that will pay dividends in the future. 

“Meanwhile doctors will be looking ahead to April’s pay round. Continuing to make progress on reversing more than a decade of relative pay cuts is critical if we’re to retain doctors working in the NHS looking after patients. 

“Alongside this we need more specialty training jobs so that there are more specialists to get through the backlog, and so that we don’t lose expertise when more senior doctors eventually retire.  

“Targets on their own – no matter how well-intentioned – are nothing without a solid plan on how to reach them, nor should we be under any illusion around myriad other pressures facing the health service, staff and patients this winter and beyond. As those charged with making this waiting list pledge a reality, we’re ready to work with the Government to develop a national plan to tackle both the acute and chronic problems it has inherited using the single greatest asset the NHS has - its dedicated staff." 

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Notes to editors

The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.

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