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Labour will pledge to clear the backlog of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment within five years of government, if the party gets into power.
Making the announcement in the West Midlands on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer will promise to “take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS so patients in every part of the country can be treated on time”.
Measures will include doubling the number of scanners to diagnose patients sooner, using spare capacity in the private sector without charging patients, and delivering what Labour claims will be “the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history”.
The party says the plan will cost £1.3bn, paid for by “clamping down on tax dodgers and closing non-dom tax loopholes”.
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Labour says the 18-week promise of treatment in the NHS constitution has been missed every month since February 2016.
Almost 3.2 million people on the waiting list have breached that timeframe, according to the party’s figures, with more than 300,000 having waited more than a year.
But making the pledge to clear the backlog, Sir Keir will point to Labour’s previous record in government under Tony Blair, saying: “We did it before and we will do it again.”
The policies build on one of the party’s so-called “first steps” for government, which includes introducing an extra 40,000 appointments a week into the NHS, provided by staff working overtime.
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