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Patients will be encouraged to book private treatments through the NHS app to reduce waiting lists, it was claimed last night.
Delays for routine treatment have reached a record 7.33 million and are expected to continue to rise, increasing the use of private hospitals.
But there is a consensus among all parties that this will only happen if patients can choose where they are treated.
The NHS app will play an important role in boosting choice and reducing queuing as it allows patients to seek short waiting times at private treatment centres.
Rishi Sunak believes that providing patients with better data on the performance of their local hospital and more on-site options will put pressure on low performers and raise standards.
Patients will be encouraged to book private treatments through the NHS app (pictured) in a bid to reduce waiting lists, it was claimed last night
GPs are expected to be monitored more closely to see if they routinely offer a choice of providers to patients, including private centres.
The Prime Minister is expected to promote patient choice in the coming weeks and publish a report with recommendations for more treatment capacity ‘via the independent sector as much as possible’.
Patient choice is becoming ‘the default mechanism’ for those referred for routine care and Mr Sunak is expected to push for voice to be at the heart of the NHS.
Sir Tony Blair introduced a patient’s right to choose where he or she is treated, but the power to exercise this right has diminished as the NHS focuses on other priorities.
Of the total of 1.5 million procedures per month paid for by the NHS, the private sector carries out around 140,000.
According to The Times, the government is considering how to scale this up with the NHS app expected to boost choice and allow patients to find shorter waiting times.
Currently only 28 NHS hospitals allow patients to manage their appointments through the app, but this is expected to expand and include private hospitals for the first time.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said: ‘We have already started implementing the work of the Elective Recovery Task Force and a full plan will be published soon – outlining how we can go even further to unlock the independent sector.’
More outsourcing of cancer checks is also expected to be part of the plan to address delays that doctors fear will lead to thousands of early deaths.
Only 63.5 percent of patients diagnosed with cancer begin treatment within two months of being referred for tests, against an 85 percent target that has not been reached for nine years.
At present, 106 community diagnostic centers offering blood tests and scans and dozens more operated by the private sector are expected to increase the number to about 190.
Richard Murray, chief executive of the King’s Fund think tank, told The Times that when freedom of choice was introduced in the 2000s, GPs found it ‘annoying’ and patients were more enthusiastic.
He said, “The first reaction you get is, ‘We just want to go to our local hospital, so can’t you cut the waiting list down?’” he said. He added that using the app would ‘remove some of the bureaucracy’, but many patients still want to speak to their GP.’