Sajid Javid has denied that a plan to clear the huge NHS backlog in England has been delayed because of wrangling with the Treasury over funding, as health bodies warned any further wait could exacerbate the scale of waiting lists for treatment.
The health secretary, who had been scheduled to announce the plan on Monday, insisted it had simply been held up by chaos caused by the Omicron variant of Covid, and that it would come imminently.
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, said the plan should be published as quickly as possible to help the health service tackle the 6 million-strong backlog, which is set to rise further.
“There has been no argument, there has been a very active discussion within both the NHS and my department to collectively agree on an elective recovery plan,” Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We’ve got a plan. It is being finalised right now. It will be published very soon.”
Cordery told the same programme: “We need to see this plan as quickly as possible because trust leaders are really keen to plough on and make their way through these very long waiting lists which have built up during the pandemic, and indeed pre-existed the pandemic.
“What we’re waiting for is a set of priorities and measures and procedures that will be put in place to support trusts, to enable them to boost their activity levels, so it will be measures to free up clinician times, it will be measures to support trusts to work more effectively together.”
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has warned health funding plans could face gridlock due to opposition from the Treasury, which might view the spending as “wasted on a dying administration”.
But in another interview Javid denied he was at loggerheads with the chancellor, Rishi Sunak. Javid told Sky News: “What I would say about the Treasury is that I couldn’t wish for a better partner when it comes to the challenges that I have.
“I don’t recognise that at all. Having been chancellor, having a close relationship with the Treasury, for any department, is crucial. And right now, for health and care, I’m just really pleased we’ve got that really good working relationship.”
The plan was delayed “because we had a roadblock with Omicron”, Javid said, adding: “I had planned to publish the plan in December. We were almost there, we were agreeing it finally with the NHS and across government, but because of Omicron we’ve rightly changed our focus, especially to boosters and to focus on that.”
The row comes as the numbers of cancer patients facing delays in seeing a specialist for the first time and starting their treatment have hit record highs in England.
Half a million people in England with suspected cancer will have to wait longer than the supposed two-week maximum to see an oncologist this year, an analysis for the House of Commons library reveals.
The number of patients confirmed to have the disease who are unable to start treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy within the 31 or 62 days that hospitals try to guarantee is expected to exceed 75,000 for the first time.
Javid told Today it was inevitable waiting lists “will rise above 6 million over the coming months” as patients returned following the pandemic, before starting to fall.
