West Street said he was “open-minded” to fining people who failed National Health Service (NHS). appointment. Figures from the NHS show around eight million hospital appointments are missed every year, representing around one in 15 and costing the health service more than £1 billion a year.
Mr Streeting told Times Radio he was not considering fines for non-attendance at the moment, but if the problem continued in the future, he would be “open-minded” to the idea.
He said: “At this stage, it’s not something I want to do, but when the system is running effectively – if we still have the problem of missed appointments – then I might be more open-minded.”
The Health Secretary said he wants to “fix” the reasons the NHS “causes” people to miss appointments and improve the way patients choose and book appointments.
When former prime minister Rishi Sunak ran for leader of the Conservative Party in 2022, he said he would impose a £10 fine if he missed NHS and GP appointments, but the idea was dropped.
Mr Streeting insisted on Sunday (October 20) that the Labor Government had “hit the ground running” when it came to improving the NHS.
He said on Sunday alongside Laura Kuenssberg that the Government had ended the junior doctors’ strike and added 1,000 frontline GPs.
A ban on junk food advertising targeting children, a Smoking Bill and a Mental Health Bill “which is also ready to go” were also hailed as progress by the Health Minister.
He added: “We have started to roll it out and of course also after the Budget, when we publish our elective recovery plan, people will not only see how we meet the 40,000 more appointments every week that we promised, but also do it in a more productive way and deliver better outcomes for patients and better value for taxpayers.”
When asked if there would be any additional appointments to the 40,000 promised by Labor at the election, Streeting told the BBC the government was “stepping up”.
When asked when the target would be achieved, Streeting replied that he would confirm within a year whether the Government had met the target.
He said in a few days, teams of skilled doctors will head to hospitals where there are high waiting lists as well as people who are unemployed to bring those numbers down.
The NHS is reportedly set for a real budget increase when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announces her spending plans on October 30, although government sources say the proposed increase of 3-4 per cent is inaccurate.
Health policy experts have suggested such increases are needed to deliver Labour’s plans to improve the NHS and reduce waiting lists.
Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers, also said more funding was needed to make the Government’s plans a reality.
He said: “Trust leaders will work closely with the Government to address the challenges facing health and social services and to make improvements. They know that the NHS needs to work differently and go further and faster to improve services for patients.
“However, this must go hand in hand with continued funding and investment, particularly in terms of capital, ending chronic workforce shortages and more support to meet the growing demand, not only in hospitals but also in mental health services, community , and ambulance. “
