In 2022 our predecessor Committee was told by NHSE that the area where it has most potential to free up clinical time and see more patients is in outpatients services because “80% of the waiting list is tied 18 NIHR Policy Research Unit on the Economics of Health and Social Care Systems and the NIHR Policy Research Unit on Economic Methods of Evaluation in health and care interventions (NWT0040) 19 NHS England, NHS publishes waiting list breakdowns to tackle health inequalities, england.nhs.u...

In 2022 our predecessor Committee was told by NHSE that the area where it has most potential to free up clinical time and see more patients is in outpatients services because “80% of the waiting list is tied 18 NIHR Policy Research Unit on the Economics of Health and Social Care Systems and the NIHR Policy Research Unit on Economic Methods of Evaluation in health and care interventions (NWT0040) 19 NHS England, NHS publishes waiting list breakdowns to tackle health inequalities, england.nhs.uk, 17 July 2025 [accessed 30 September 2025]; NHS England, Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS) Information, 2025 [accessed 30 September 2025] 20 Q 15 2 Type: conclusion | Number: 13 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 DHSC and NHS England undertook a review of programme governance to ensure the right structures are in place to deliver the ERP, which was published in January 2025