Can the push for patient-initiated follow-up transform secondary care consultations?

Credit: MartinPrescott/iStock.com

By Daniel Pye

In its elective care reform plans to reduce waiting times, the government wants patient-initiated follow-ups to be offered as standard “in all appropriate pathways” by March 2026. Can this reduce pressures on secondary care consultations?

Last year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to end hospital backlogs by meeting the NHS standard of 92% of patients waiting no more than 18 weeks for elective treatment.