England's Health Secretary has insisted the NHS can cope with post-pandemic stresses as he urged people stuck on waiting lists not to opt for private care.
In an interview with The Guardian, Sajid Javid said he was confident the NHS would be able to clear the patient backlog which built up during the coronavirus pandemic.
Although he did not give a date for when the queue may be eased, Mr Javid told the paper he would not advise people to seek out private care in order to access treatment faster.
He said: “That’s always a choice for people that can afford it, and that’s up to them. But it’s not certainly something I would be recommending to anyone.
“I don’t want a situation where too many more people just stop (using the health service) … because I want them to use the NHS. The NHS can manage it.”
His comments come after Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth told the Labour Party conference last week the pandemic was not the only reason for the pressure on the NHS as he criticised the record of the Tories in government since 2010.
He told delegates: “An under-funded, under-staffed NHS has been pushed to the brink.
“No-one is pretending the NHS hasn’t been impacted by 18 months of Covid. But let’s not pretend that pre-Covid the NHS wasn’t impacted by 10 years of the Tories.
“We entered the pandemic with the longest financial squeeze in NHS history, 17,000 beds closed, hospitals crumbling, public health services cut, GP numbers down, services privatised, nurse training places cut, children’s mental health budgets raided, thousands waiting longer for cancer treatment, the 18-week target not met for five years, the A&E target not met for six years.
“So, the NHS is in crisis not simply because of Covid, the NHS is in crisis because of the Conservatives.”
