The health secretary has said NHS waiting lists need to be “millions lower” by the next general election in 2029.
Wes Streeting told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips he is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure waiting lists are brought down, including using the private sector.
He said the “NHS waiting list will need to be millions lower by the end of this parliament”.
Mr Streeting said he wants to end the “two-tier system” where those who can afford it go private “and those who can’t are being left behind”.
However, he said where there is spare capacity in the private sector the NHS should use that to get waiting lists down.
“Rebuilding that [the NHS] takes time,” he said.
“So in the meantime, I’m looking to pull every single lever I can to make sure that people get treated as fast as possible and as safely as possible.
“And you can get those waiting lists down, get people back to health, back to work, or back to enjoying their lives in retirement.”
Mr Streeting said his centre-left principles mean he cannot leave “working class people waiting longer even where there is spare capacity in the private sector that we could use via the NHS to get those people treated faster”.
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