Responding to today’s latest NHS performance figures, David Furness, Director of Policy at the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said:

“Today’s NHS waiting list hitting 7.2 million underlines the need for all parts of the healthcare system to work together to tackle the backlog, with the NHS using all the tools in its armoury to ensure patients can access the treatment they need.

“This includes making greater use of the independent sector and bolstering patient choice – key factors in in getting NHS waiting times down in the 2000’s – and we welcome the Government’s recently announced taskforce to look at this very issue and ensure that the capacity and capability available in the independent sector is being fully utilised for the benefit of NHS patients”