By Nick Triggle
Health correspondent
Patients who have been waiting more than 40 weeks for treatment in England will be offered the option of getting seen in another part of the country.
About 400,000 will be contacted in the coming weeks and asked whether they would be willing to travel and how far.
Patients already have a right to ask for treatment elsewhere.
But NHS England believes that by proactively contacting the longest waiters they will help unlock some of the worst bottlenecks in the system.
Only those who do not have an appointment already scheduled within the next eight weeks will receive the offer via text, email or letter.
The 400,000 figure represents about 5% of the total number waiting for treatment.
If a patient is happy to travel, the treatment could either be in an NHS or private sector hospital.
Those on low incomes will be entitled to some financial support to enable them to travel for treatment.
Patients will retain their place on the waiting list at their local hospital while other options are explored.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said it was “absolutely right” to make the most of available capacity across the country to reduce backlogs.
Waits for treatment can vary greatly, with some hospitals able to treat patients three times more quickly than others for common orthopaedic procedures such as hip and knee operations.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said empowering people to exercise choice would help “tackle waiting lists and improve access to care”.
Louise Ansari, of the patient watchdog Healthwatch England, welcomed the move, saying long waits were having a devastating impact on both the physical and mental health of people.
But she said it needed to be backed by more financial support.
“People have also told us that they would welcome the opportunity to travel to receive care more quickly, as long as any additional costs incurred would be covered.”
She said if people did not receive the support they needed to travel, the move risked widening inequalities.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said patient choice should not be seen as a “magic bullet”.
“Long waiting times are a symptom of years of severe workforce shortages and underinvestment in the NHS,” she added.
