Rishi Sunak blasted over NHS waits as Labour vows to 'ramp up' overtime clinics

17 December 2023 , 22:30

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Rishi Sunak is under huge pressure to deal with NHS waiting lists (Image: PA)

Keir Starmer says Labour will "ramp up" weekend hospital appointments if he becomes PM - as he took aim at floundering Rishi Sunak.

He urged the under-fire Tory leader to back plans to fund more overtime for doctors and nurses by scrapping the non-dom tax status. The Labour chief said £1.1billion of the money raised will fund extra evening and weekend clinics.

This will deliver an extra two million operations, scans and appointment a year, he said. It comes as the Prime Minister scrambles to cut waiting lists by the end of the year in order to meet his pledge to do so.

Mr Starmer said: "Labour has a fully-funded, NHS-backed plan to ramp up weekend appointments, clear the backlog and help give people their lives back. There is one reason it's not happening, and that's a political choice by the Prime Minister to keep a tax loophole for the wealthiest.

"Patients will rightfully be wondering why." NHS England data published last week showed 6.44 million patients were waiting for 7.71 million treatments at the end of October.

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The Labour leader and Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting will visit a hospital trust in Yorkshire on Monday, where weekend clinics have already been brought in. Labour said that more than half of hospitals close operating theatres at weekends.

Mr Starmer said: "While the Prime Minister schemes in Westminster, chasing down gimmicks to save his political skin, waiting lists are growing and the NHS heads into yet another winter crisis. Some hospitals are already blazing the trail with weekend working, but need a government that backs them to unleash the full potential of our health service."

And in a savage dig at his rival, whose wife was revealed to have saved millions thanks to her non-dom tax status last year, he said: "The Prime Minister should put his pride and politics aside, change the rules protecting the wealthiest and prioritise patients over non-doms."

Dave Burke