This afternoon Sajid Javid announced his NHS reform package, with a focus on “shifting to a new mode” of preventative care, and introducing a new “right to choose” policy for patients on long waiting lists – a scheme that will allow patients to opt for alternative care elsewhere in the country, or rely on the private sector for more immediate treatment. All transport and accommodation will be covered by public spending. Under the new plans, those who’ve already waited more than 2 years will be contacted this month, while those who’ve waited at least 18 months expected to be reached by the end of the year. Although Saj still warned the scale of reform means it won’t be completed quickly – and added that the NHS’s budget has swelled to match the total GDP of Greece…

Javid also announced a health disparities white paper is coming later this year, with multiple government departments and agencies including the NHS expected to be involved in developing a strategy for the health service’s new preventative focus. Javid claimed this will be achieved in four main ways:

• A ‘baselining exercise’ to work out how much the NHS currently spends on prevention
• Instructing NHS networks to commit to a delivery plan for common diseases
• A focus on tackling cardiovascular diseases
• Beefing up the role of the NHS app

Saj also stressed how he believes the future of the NHS doesn’t just depend on pumping in more cash:

“…It’s clear that we were always going to come to a crossroads: a point where we must choose between endlessly putting in more and more money, or reforming how we do healthcare… I choose reform.”

“I don’t want government to have to keep going back for more tax hikes on a smaller workforce. As someone once said: ‘There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers’ money.’

He says just three weeks before the tax burden reaches a 70-year high…