down, there has been some progress on those waiting the longest, but overall, waiting lists are still going up. is it actually still a promise you are committed to? yes, of course. when i made the pledge, thank you for acknowledging we have made progress on the longest waits. we have said it would be in spring of this year we would see the waiting lists fall properly. in spite of the record resources we have put into the nhs, more doctors and nurses, community diagnostic centres, we are treating more people than ever before about waiting lists have not come down. 7.71 million people waiting... far too long. it is on your watch. yes, that has happened on my watch, i accept that, we have put in record resources, more doctors and nurses, community diagnostic centres, doing the right things, treating more people, we've obviously been hindered by industrial action. if you see what happened towards the end of last year, we had a period without any strikes
in the nhs and we saw the waiting lists fall, tens of thousands, by 65,000 over 0ctober, waiting lists started to fall when you had a period without industrial action. that gives me the confidence that once we can resolve the outstanding industrial action, we will be able to see waiting lists fall because of the extra investment into the nhs. if strikes have been the problem — and the evidence on how much they contribute to waiting lists is mixed, but clearly part of the problem — are you willing to improve your offer tojunior doctors? there is nearly 9% already offered to them and another 3% on the table, but to get them back to work, to stop this having an impact for patients, would you put more on the table? we already have and i think, again, if you look at the government's track record when it comes to resolving industrial action... i am asking if you would put more? it is important to have the context. the government has reached a resolution with every
fall because of the extra investment i into the nhs-— problem and the evidence on how much they contribute to waiting lists is mixed, but clearly part of the problem, are you willing to improve your offer to junior doctors? there is nearly 9% already offered to them and another 3% on the table, but to get them back to work, to stop this having an impact for patients, would you put more on the table? we already have and i think again if you look at the government's track record when it comes to resolving | industrial action. . ._ |you would put more? it is important| to have the context. the government has reached a resolution with every other part of the nhs, nurses, midwives, paramedics, consultant doctors, specialty doctors most recently, so every other part of the nhs workforce and i am grateful to them has reached a resolution with the government on a reasonable, fair pay settlement. the only people that haven't are the junior doctors. the numbers you gave demonstrate that the pay offer the junior doctors already have is more generous than any other part of the nhs. those are
if you see what happened towards the end of last year, we had a period without any strikes in the nhs and we saw the waiting lists fall, tens of thousands, by 65,000 in october, waiting lists started to fall when you had a period without industrial action. once we can resolve outstanding industrial action, we will be able to see waiting lists fall because of the extra investment into the nhs. if strikes have been the problem and the evidence on how much they contribute to waiting lists is mixed, but clearly part of the problem, are you willing to improve your offer tojunior doctors? there is nearly 9% already offered to them and another 3% on the table, but to get them back to work, to stop this having an impact for patients, would you put more on the table? we already have and i think again if you look at the government's track record when it comes to resolving industrial action... i am asking if you would put more? it is important to have the context.
another promise to the public, we talked about this year ago, you promised to get waiting lists down, there has been some progress on those waiting the longest, but overall, waiting lists are still going. is it actually still a promise you are you are committed to? yes, of course. when i made the pledge, thank you for acknowledging we have made progress on the longest waiters. we have said it would be in spring of this year we would see the waiting lists fall properly. in spite of the record resources we have put into the nhs, more doctors and nurses, community diagnostic centres, we are treating more people than ever before but waiting lists have not come down. 7.71 million people waiting... it's far too long. it is on your watch. yes, that has happened on my watch, i accept that, we have put in record resources, more doctors and nurses, community diagnostic centres, doing the right things, treating more people, we've obviously been hindered by industrial action.
your next step? is _ for nurses this year. so what is your next step? is your - for nurses this year. so what is - your next step? is your impression that there will be negotiations or you are trying to get anything achieved with negotiations next? the prime achieved with negotiations next? tue prime minister achieved with negotiations next? tte prime minister and achieved with negotiations next? t"te prime minister and the achieved with negotiations next? tte prime minister and the government need to start as they mean to go on. we are moving into another pay year, the pay review body letter was late and also clipped the pay review body's wings. they are meant to be independent. what we need is the government to show that it means business, that it's really listening to the issues that nursing staff and others in the nhs have got and comes to the table or gives evidence to the pay review body that really gives an award that really reflects what needs to happen to ensure there is enough nurses to deliver the care that patients and the public need. at the moment is there any prospect of going back to industrial action? we have seen the disruption partly with the junior doctor strikes. what are the prospects for nurses going
Many appointments — including thousands for cancer — have been postponed over the last year as ongoing strikes have kept various staff groups out of hospitals.
overall, since industrial action began last year, more than 1.2 million appointments have been affected. the government cite it as one of the key reasons waiting lists remain stubbornly long. the crunch point in march, when we have the pay review bodies who are going to be looking at the... what they're going to suggest. and we could have a situation, i think, there where the pay review bodies suggest an uplift to the consultant contract, that could then lead to the nurses reopening their concerns about their pay. bed blocking, or delayed discharge, is a perennial problem and one which is inextricably linked to a political puzzle, one which everyone seems to recognise but few seem keen to solve. social care, a system which works outside the nhs, but is key to its smooth operation. in england, there are currently