A Labour government would treat increasing the pay of junior doctors as “a journey, not an event” Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary has said in the latest warning about the need for caution over spending if the party wins power.
Streeting also said while he wanted maximum waiting times for operations to fall to 18 weeks by the end of a first term in power, he was “not going to create a hostage to fortune” by making specific pledges on NHS waiting lists.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Streeting reiterated Labour’s position that if elected it could not immediately match the 35% pay rise sought by the British Medical Association for junior doctors in England.
Saying he would be “depressed and furious” if the dispute was not over before the general election, Streeting said: “I think we’ve got to see the road back to fair pay as a journey, not an event.” This was, he added, because “the public finances are a complete mess”.
Outlining previously unveiled Labour plans to try to reduce the backlog of NHS appointments with measures including funding for weekend appointments, Streeting said only that there would be a significantly shorter waiting lists under Labour.
He added: “I would hope that by the end of the first term of a Labour government we will have seen a serious reduction in NHS waiting lists. By the end of the first term of a Labour government, I would want the maximum waiting times for operations down to 18 weeks. That’s our commitment.
“In terms of the overall number on waiting lists, we will go as fast and as far as we can to bring those waiting lists, overall, down – but we want to make sure that we get the waiting times down to 18 weeks by the end of the first term of a Labour government.”
Cutting waiting lists in England was one of the five key pledges made by Rishi Sunak in January but progress has been difficult.
Data published last week by NHS England showed the waiting list for treatment had fallen marginally to 7.7 million treatments for 6.4 million patients at the end of October, against 7.8 million treatments and 6.5 million patients at the end of September.
Streeting was due to join the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, on a visit to a hospital trust in Yorkshire on Monday, where weekend clinics have been introduced.
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