Labour will deliver two million more NHS appointments a year – as waiting lists hit record levels under Rishi Sunak

NHS waiting lists have risen by 600,000 since Rishi Sunak’s pledge to bring them down in January – hitting a record level of 7.8 million people waiting for an appointment in the health service.

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting blasted “the crisis in the NHS” and said the Tories have “waved the white flag” on their own promise to sort the issue out.

It is another example of Tory failure on the NHS, with the number of procedures being carried out still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

And it is another pledge to the British people that the Tories are failing to keep.

Now it’s Labour’s mission to get the NHS back on its feet by delivering two million more appointments a year to beat the Tory backlog. 

As the NHS heads towards another winter crisis, only Labour has a plan to get the health service working around the clock to get patients seen and deliver the care the country deserves.

By abolishing the non-dom tax status, Labour will be able to invest £1.1 billion into paying staff extra to run clinics in evenings and weekends.

The plan will see an extra two million appointments for patients to bring down waiting lists.

The Tories don’t have a plan for the NHS – only empty promises.

“The crisis in the NHS will continue and millions of patients will be left waiting too long unless something changes. We have got to get the NHS working around the clock if we’re going to beat the Tory backlog,” Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.

“The government waved the white flag on Rishi Sunak’s pledge to cut waiting lists last week. The Tories have failed. It will take a Labour government to get the NHS back on its feet.

“Labour’s plan to cut waiting lists will deliver two million more appointments a year by paying staff extra to work evenings and weekends. We will pay for it by abolishing the non-dom tax status, because patients need treatment more than the wealthiest need a tax break.” 

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