UK patients awaiting treatment could skip queues at their local hospital if they are willing to travel to other parts of England for both private or NHS care, according to new plans.
The health service will extend the use of a “matching platform”, through which patients are “matched” with providers of the service they need outside their local area.
The NHS said the new platform aims to make the most of available capacity elsewhere – including in the private sector – and speed up waiting times.
The system was initially launched in January for patients needing hospital admission, but the platform will now be expanded to include cancer, diagnostic checks and outpatient appointments.
The health service estimates that thousands of people could benefit from the extension of the programme, saying that 1,700 have used the platform so far.
Asked about those who are unable to travel, an NHS representative said there was local funding and support in place to enable people who may struggle to travel – which could include elderly or disabled people – to benefit from the scheme. This could include provision of taxis or hotels.
NHS England said the platform allows healthcare staff to view and add available surgery slots in hospitals across the country, including private sector capacity.
A patient's details are uploaded on to the system, then other NHS and private hospitals or providers are able to log on and offer their services.
If more than one provider offers treatment, the patient can choose between them.
When a patient is first registered with the platform, they can say how far they would be willing to travel – for instance up to 160 kilometres.
The NHS through the decades – in pictures
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The first babies born on July 5, 1948, the day the NHS was launched in the UK. Getty Images -
People take part in a doorstep survey about the need for a National Health Service in 1944. Getty Images -
The sorting of ballot papers in the British Medical Association to ascertain doctors' views on joining the National Health Service scheme, in April 1948. Getty Images -
Minister for health Aneurin Bevan watches a demonstration of a new stretcher in Preston, on the first day of the new National Health Service. Getty Images -
Mr Bevan's visit to Park Hospital, Manchester, now named Trafford General Hospital, on July 5, 1948. PA -
Nurses of Whipps Cross Hospital, in London, singing Christmas carols to one of the patients in bed in 1952. Getty Images -
NHS patients queuing in the rain outside a mobile X-ray unit parked in a street in New Cross, London in 1954. Getty Images -
Some of the 8,000 nurses attending a protest meeting at Trafalgar Square, London, in support of their pay claim in 1952. Getty Images -
A nurse in the operating theatre of St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, in 1968. Getty Images -
Nurses demonstrating outside the Ministry of Health, London, in 1974. Getty Images -
Demonstrators protesting in London against proposed NHS funding cuts in 1984. Getty Images -
A busy Friday night in the A&E section of the Royal London Hospital in 1998. Getty Images -
Unison members protest in front of the British Parliament to protest against conditions which will turn the NHS into a two-tier system in 2003. Getty Images -
Work during the construction of Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in 2007. Getty Images -
Performers dance in a scene in tribute of the NHS during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Getty Images -
NHS workers take part in an anti-austerity protest during the first day of the 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference in Manchester. Getty Images -
Doctors treat a baby, receiving light therapy, inside an incubator in the Birmingham Women's Hospital in 2015. Getty Images -
Nurses in uniforms from each decade of the NHS celebrate the 70th birthday of the NHS in 2018. Getty Images -
A nurse enters the Covid-19 Red Zone at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Wales in 2020. Getty Images -
NHS staff applaud at the entrance of the Royal Liverpool Hospital as part of the "Clap For Our Carers" campaign in April 2020. Getty Images -
A nurse takes a swab at a Covid-19 drive-through testing station for NHS staff in Chessington in 2020. Getty Images -
A sign of support for the NHS during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 in Glasgow. Getty Images -
Domestic caretaker Jim Johnson outside Blackpool Victoria Hospital during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Getty Images -
NHS staff members gather outside the University Hospital of North Tees to show their respects and applaud Captain Sir Tom Moore. Getty Images -
NHS staff and key workers queue in the Louisa Jordan Hospital before receiving the coronavirus vaccine in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Getty Images -
NHS staff administer the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in 2021 in St Helens. Getty Images -
An ambulance paramedic speaks as NHS workers and supporters gather outside Downing Street during strike action in 2022. Getty Images -
Demonstrators, holding placards and banners, during a strike by NHS nursing staff outside St. Thomas' Hospital in London, in 2022. Getty Images -
Ambulance workers on a picket line during strike action at Chorley Ambulance Station in 2023. Bloomberg -
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is given a demonstration of CPR while visiting the NHS's Addenbrooke's Hospital in 2023. Getty Images
NHS England said that the system is mainly for patients who have been waiting the longest but patients do not need to be waiting a particular length of time or longer than average to be uploaded to the system.
It said that people in need of gynaecology, colorectal and trauma and orthopaedics services have benefited most from the use of the platform so far.
The health service has increased its use of private hospitals by a third since 2021 – from 65,000 appointments and procedures a week to more than 90,000 a week now.
“Despite significant pressure on services, NHS staff have already made incredible progress against our elective recovery plan, and this smart new tool will help us to continue to reduce long waits for patients,” NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said.
“It shows, once again, the benefits of having a national health service – NHS staff can now work even more closely with other hospitals across the country to identify capacity and conveniently match patients to available treatment and appointment slots.”
Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power said: “We welcome the expansion of the hospital matching platform and think it will make it even easier for patients and the healthcare professional to make a decision together about where to have treatment or a test.
“Patient choice has been a right for over decade but not all patients are aware they have the right, and it isn’t always offered to them. Hopefully, making it easy for health professionals to see the choices of where patients can be treated will increase the number of patients who can take advantage of mutual aid within the NHS.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Anything that helps older people get speedier access to the diagnostics and treatment they often desperately need has to be a good thing, so this initiative is very welcome.
“We know that literally millions of older people are stuck on waiting lists at the moment, with no idea when they’ll get seen by a clinician.
“This new platform won’t be the solution for everyone, but it will enable some fortunate older people to take advantage of spare capacity in a health setting that’s not their usual one – great news for them and a good use of the NHS’s resources, too.”
