The backlash came after Prime Minister Keir Starmer set a goal for the NHS to carry out 92% of routine operations and appointments within 18 weeks by March 2029 but failed to commit to other targets.

Liberal Democrat health and care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said: ‘Dropping this target is an insult to patients who are having to wait hours on end to be seen at A&E.

‘It looks like the Government is taking a whack-a-mole approach to NHS targets, focusing on waiting lists at the expense of A&Es and GPs.

‘The only way to fix the NHS is by driving up improvement across the board, and critically tackling the social care crisis that has been ignored for far too long.'

A Government spokesperson said: ‘The Prime Minister was clear that dealing with waiting lists does not mean we cannot drive improvements across the rest of the NHS at the same time.

‘To protect A&Es this winter, we have ended the resident doctors' strikes, so NHS staff will be on the front line not the picket line for the first winter in three years and have vaccinated nearly 27m people against flu, Covid and RSV so far to keep them healthy and out of hospital.

‘The NHS is broken, and it will take time to fix it. Sticking plasters won't work. But the investment and long-term reforms we are making will turn the NHS around and make it fit for the future.'