The big picture: The Labour government has unveiled an Elective Reform Plan aimed at clearing NHS backlogs, with a target to treat 65% of patients within 18 weeks by the end of 2025.
By the numbers:
133,026 people are on waiting lists under the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board
57,156 of those have been waiting more than 18 weeks
Nearly one million people are on waiting lists across the East of England
What's happening: The government's reform plan includes three main elements:
Opening more Community Diagnostic Centres on evenings and weekends, alongside additional surgical hubs to provide treatment outside of hospitals.
Giving patients a greater choice over where they receive treatment – currently, only one in four patients report being offered this choice.
Striking a new agreement with private healthcare providers to treat more NHS patients, particularly for joint operations and gynaecological procedures.
Doctors' leaders have welcomed the reforms while raising concerns about staffing levels needed to deliver the targets.
What they're saying: Abbott, who also serves as the Government's East of England Mission Champion, said: "Tens of thousands of Ipswich residents are stuck on the record-long waiting lists inherited by the Labour Government at huge cost to their health."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the plan would deliver "millions more appointments" and provide "greater choice and convenience for patients."
What's next: Under the reforms, the NHS aims to create hundreds of thousands of additional appointments in the East of England, with a national target of two million extra appointments in its first year.
The bottom line: The government has pledged to restore the 18-week standard for planned NHS treatment by the end of this Parliament, though local patients currently waiting may still face significant delays.
