THE NHS is set for a funding boost in today’s budget as the spending watchdog warned it does not have enough cash to clear backlogs.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay told an NHS conference in Liverpool yesterday that he will “relentlessly focus” on shrinking the wait list of 7.1million people.
He said the Autumn Statement will prove reports he had not lobbied for more health cash were “absolutely incorrect”.
A new backlog-busting tsar will be brought in to drive down waits, with top surgeon Professor Tim Briggs appointed clinical director for elective recovery.
It comes as a report by the National Audit Office warned there is a “serious risk” hospitals will fail in their mission to hit surgery and cancer targets by 2025.