Data shows between October 2024 and January 2025 waiting lists were cut by 130% faster than the national average at 20 targeted trusts.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘By sending top doctors to provide targeted support to hospitals in the areas of highest economic inactivity, we are getting sick Brits back to health and back to work.

‘We have to get more out of the NHS for what we put in. By taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, reforming the way surgeries are running, we are cutting waiting lists twice as fast at no extra cost to the taxpayer.'

Data shows the number of people unable to work due to long term sickness is at its highest since the 1990s. The decision to send the crack teams to these 20 trusts first was based on the Government's aim to get people back to health and back to work, helping to cut the welfare bill.

A total of 37,000 cases have been removed from the waiting lists in those 20 areas, averaging almost 2,000 patients per local trust.

The teams of leading clinicians introducing more productive ways of working to deliver more procedures, including running operating theatres like Formula One pit stops to cut down on wasted time between operations.

The Government said the teams would be roll-out to more areas following initiative's success.

Interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said: ‘No-one wants patients to wait a moment longer than needed so any initiatives which mean patients are seen even faster will be welcomed- but these must be done in partnership with local teams who know their communities inside out.

‘It is essential too that any new proposals to drive down waiting times address the huge challenges facing mental health and community services, too.'

Cordery added national leaders need to assess the complex range of factors affecting waiting times, including inequalities and demand.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘NHS leaders are committed to driving down waiting lists and appreciate the targeted support from the Government to learn from the best. The NHS also appreciates the link between a healthy society supported by a strong NHS and a well-functioning economy. The success of the scheme so far in these services points to the importance of strong management and administration in the NHS to deliver for patients and staff, which the government should bear in mind when ever deeper cuts in managerial capacity are being demanded.    

‘Our members will look forward to the roll out of teams more widely while exploring the implications for other parts of the system with long waiting lists.'