Elective care waiting list and insourcing

That this House expresses concern that latest NHS figures show that there are a record 7.75 million people in England waiting for elective care, with more waiting in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; fears that waiting lists have the potential to continue to rise; notes the negative consequences of long elective waiting lists on patients’ physical discomfort and outcomes, their families’ emotional wellbeing and NHS resources; recognises the value of the independent health sector when working in partnership with the NHS, to treat more patients quickly and to a high quality; specifically recognises the unique value of the insourcing sector, which brings in additional clinical teams to maximise the use of NHS estates and equipment at times when they would otherwise go unused, such as at weekends and in evenings, to reduce waiting lists and get patients seen more quickly, in familiar environments, and reduces the lost opportunity cost of spare NHS capacity and equipment going underused; notes that polling from March 2023 demonstrates strong public support for the use of insourcing; and calls on the national and devolved Governments and local NHS systems to encourage the use of insourcing arrangements to reduce elective backlogs and improve patient outcomes across the country.