Health secretary, Steve Barclay, has written to the devolved administrations to invite them to discuss how they can work together to cut NHS waiting lists across the UK.
The government ambition is to align stakeholders and determine which approaches yield the biggest benefits amid the significantly differing outcomes across the UK.
For example, the health secretary highlights how the patients who have been waiting for more than 78 weeks have been virtually eliminated in England, while 73,000 people who have been waiting for the same period remain in Wales.
Furthermore, at least 21,600 people have been waiting for an outpatient, day case or inpatient appointment in Scotland.
Barclay also draws attention to how, at GP referral, NHS patients in England are given a choice as to whether they would like to carry on treatment through the health service or go through the independent sector.
The health secretary also writes that he would be open to discussions around allowing NHS patients in Wales and Scotland to access healthcare services in England – whether that be through the NHS or otherwise.
Barclay has asked UK health ministers to discuss how health data can be made more comparable across the UK. Officials from Northern Ireland have also been invited to the meeting.
To read the full letter addressed to Welsh health minister, Eluned Morgan, and Scottish health secretary, Michael Matheson, click here.
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