Sunak faces calls to act on pledge to cut waiting lists as strikes in Lancashire continue
The Prime Minister should come up with an emergency plan to reduce record waiting lists in the NHS, a group of celebrities and NHS workers said.
Millions of people stuck on the waiting lists are "getting sicker while waiting" and the situation is causing them "anxiety and uncertainty, according to presenter Stephen Fry, comedian Jo Brand, former NHS doctor and comedian Adam Kay and poet Michael Rosen.
The group have signed an open letter calling for the Government to act to "get waiting times falling immediately".
Some 73,000 people have signed the letter including more than 1,000 NHS workers.
It comes as junior doctors in Lancashire enter the second day of strikes.
Medics in training from the British Medical Association are staging the longest consecutive walk out in NHS history - striking for six whole days from 7am on January 3.
Dr Mike Greenhalgh is a BMA representative from Lancashire. He says something must be done to stop doctors leaving:
"We know we have 10,000 doctor vacancies in the NHS at the moment, and when you apply for as a doctor to work outside of the country you need to get a certificate from our regulator.
"There were over 6000 applications for those certificates last year.
Dr Greenhalgh added: "People are waiting months and months to see consultants in hospitals, people are waiting months and months for operations.
"To improve all of these things we need more doctors and to have more doctors we need a fair pay deal to retain the ones we are training."
Mr Sunak has said previously that doctors' strikes have held back progress on his pledge to reduce NHS waiting times.
Exactly one year ago, the Prime Minister said that cutting the NHS waiting list was one of his top priorities, and he pledged that "NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly".
He said that he wanted the country to hold him to account for delivering on the pledge.
The number of patients waiting for treatments has gone up from an estimated 6.08 million in January 2023 to 6.44 million in October, the latest figure available.
And the number of treatments waiting to be carried out has gone up from 7.21 million in January 2023 to 7.71 million in October.
The new letter, published by the campaign group 38 Degrees, states: "In January 2023 you pledged that getting waiting times falling was one of your 'top five priorities'. We were grateful to see a political leader hold themselves accountable for getting NHS waiting lists in England to fall.
"However, since then waiting times have gone up - and it's time for you to be held to account.
"We demand that you end your attempts to pit patients and NHS staff against each other. We can't wait, we won't wait. We need an emergency plan, which gives the NHS whatever it needs, to get waiting times falling immediately."
Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees, said: "A year ago today, Rishi Sunak promised that NHS waiting lists would fall - and he told the public to 'hold him to account' on that promise. Yet in the last 365 days waiting lists have soared to record heights.
"Mr Sunak asked to be held to account, so that's exactly what we're doing. As we enter an election year, with the NHS top of voters' minds, enough is enough - we can't wait any longer."
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said on Wednesday that the strikes were having an impact on the health service's work to cut long waiting lists.
He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme: "When you see impact, you really want to say to both sides 'this is having a huge effect so please move first, move quickly'.
The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.