Milton Keynes University Hospital has seen waiting lists drop by 1,075 since the general election, as England sees the second biggest drop in 15 years.

Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, thanked NHS staff at Milton Keynes University Hospital for their hard work in continuing to get waiting lists down on Friday, January 16. This came as the Labour government marked a year since the publication of its Elective Reform Plan designed to cut waits in January 2025.

Across England, NHS waiting lists fell by more than 86,000 in November. Meanwhile, new data shows that staff faced record demand that same year, making the achievement even greater. NHS’s busiest ever year in 2025 saw 27.8 million A&E attendances. That’s over 367,000 up on 2024, with 2.33 million attendances in December alone.

In the year since the Elective Reform Plan was launched, record investment and true modernisation to cut waiting lists have been brought in by Labour. This includes creating more evening and weekend clinics, new and expanded community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs, teams of experts being sent to 20 hospital trusts with the highest levels of economic inactivity across England, and cutting down on unnecessary appointments by sending patients “straight to test” rather than multiple clinic visits.

A Milton Keynes hospital has seen waiting lists drop since the general election, despite record demand last year. Photo: Labour Party Milton Keynes

placeholder image — A Milton Keynes hospital has seen waiting lists drop since the general election, despite record demand last year. Photo: Labour Party Milton Keynes

Emily Darlington warned that winter pressures are still taking a toll as hospitals continue to battle the flu. She urged anyone eligible in Milton Keynes that it’s not too late to take up the flu vaccine to protect themselves and others.

Emily said: “NHS staff in MK have worked incredibly hard to shrink down the waiting list while seeing a record surge in patients last year.”

“Thanks to this Labour government’s Elective Reform Plan, our record investment and modernisation, hundreds more patients got a faster diagnosis in Milton Keynes and received quicker treatment or the all-clear over the last 12 months.

“This is despite services facing consistently high levels of pressure and experiencing another record year for A&E and ambulances. It will be a long road, but Labour is fixing our health service and making it fit for the future and beyond.”