Labour unveils enormous NHS reforms – the whole lot you should learn about large modifications to GPs and hospitals

Nearly a million hospital appointments are set to be freed up under new plans to make it easier and faster to get specialist treatment on the NHS.

Some £80 million of NHS funds will be paid to GPs who perform more specialist referrals themselves through increased use of the ‘Advice and Guidance’ (A&G) scheme.

Huge numbers of patients have to wait months for ‘second opinion’ appointments with hospital consultants – even if their conditions don’t need to be treated in hospital.

Under the new scheme, family doctors work with hospital specialists before making referrals, to ensure patients are getting the right treatment in the right place and reduce hospital pressures.

And it will mean hundreds of thousands more patients suffering from ear, nose and throat complaints, age-related hearing loss, tinnitus and other conditions that don’t require hospital treatment will be cared for in the community.

The scheme is one of a raft of reforms to be announced by Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Monday

• The NHS App will be overhauled to give patients more choice of when and where they are treated
• Action will also be taken to tackle missed appointments, which can be costly for the health service
• From March patients at more than 85% of acute trusts will be able to view their appointments on the app
• They will also be able to contact their healthcare provider and receive regular updates, including how long they are likely to wait
• It will also establish minimum standards for patients, to give them more power over decision-making

Mr Streeting said the changes will shift the NHS “into the digital age” and help cut waiting times “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.

This includes giving people a choice on how their care is followed up, be it in person or online, as well as giving patients a shortlist of providers to choose from and making it easier for them to contact providers for follow-ups.

“Shifting care from hospital to the community is one of the three big shifts we will implement to reform the NHS and deliver our Plan for Change, so that our healthcare system is fit for the future,” Mr Streeting said.

“Hundreds of thousands more patients each year will be cared for in the community, which is better for them and less expensive for the taxpayer.

“To be an outpatient, you shouldn’t have to go into hospital.”

Roughly half of the patients sent for hospital second opinions don’t need hospital treatment at all, and can be treated properly in other settings.

Last year, over 2.4 million A&G requests were submitted by GPs, resulting in around 1.2 million cases being referred for care outside of hospital.

Under plans to expand the service the number of requests is expected to rise by up to 1.6 million to 4 million annually.

More conditions that can be treated in the community include breathing problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common

lung disease that causes breathing difficulties.

Patients experiencing urinary tract issues, such as incontinence, and gastrointestinal conditions could also benefit from the changes.

As well as taking strain off the NHS, the plan will see patients treated more quickly, avoiding the waiting list entirely in many cases.

Some 800,000 hospital appointments could be freed up if the scheme goes to plan.

GPs will be paid an extra £20 per referral made using the A&G system – which the government plans to streamline to make it easier for GPs to use.

Amanda Doyle, the NHS’ National Director for Primary Care, said: “Hardworking GPs are using their expertise to deliver record numbers of appointments, but we know we need to do more to support practices and improve access for patients in the community.

“That is why the NHS will expand the use of the Advice and Guidance scheme which has already benefited hundreds of thousands of patients and reduced unnecessary outpatient appointments.

“This is vital to ensuring we can continue to reduce the NHS waiting list, and together with the measures in the Elective Reform Plan, we will be able to ensure that more people are able to access care on their doorsteps without the need to go to hospital unnecessarily.”