Streeting: Private sector will help clear NHS backlog

Wes Streeting has said he will consider leaning more heavily on the private sector as he bids to clear NHS waiting lists.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

The health secretary said he will not be "bound by outdated ideological battles" when tackling the crisis in the service, where 7.39 million people are currently waiting to be seen by doctors.

He said it would be "foolish to turn away" from the private healthcare sector, but cautioned that "we must see it for what it is".

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Streeting said: "Some ask if using private capacity contradicts NHS principles. Nonsense. What contradicts NHS principles is letting people suffer unnecessarily when capacity exists to treat them.