A better NHS?

The new government’s policy to the NHS so far looks like the old one’s. Tell them getting waiting lists down is the priority, and then give them more money to do so.

There are to be new hospitals on capital account. Boris promised that but despite record funding little was completed and a lot was not started.What will be the change to get to construction contracts faster?

There is to be £1,5 bn of 3xtra equipment. There always is a substantial equipment budget. A bit more might remove a few bottlenecks as people wait for tests.

The obvious think lacking is hospital beds or surgery small operations capacity. Of course beds need staffing,  up the NHS is always recruiting extra staff.

There is some talk of the NHS making more use of private medical capacity as Blair and Milburn started. It is certainly a good idea to explore if the private sector could for example tackle a lot of cataract removals or knee joint repairs in dedicated facilities contracted to perform NHS work to a high standard. The patient would still be treated free.

There are some obvious money saving things to do to help bridge the gaps. Foreign visitors should pay for any use they need to make of the NHS, though that often does not happen.

The NHS should accept returns of equipment suitable after cleaning for reuse, like scratches and frames. It should get better at controlling stocks and reducing waste age of foods and medicines.