Recommendation 10

We shared our concerns about the risks facing the NHS and its ability to deliver the recovery targets and we pressed NHSE on how confident it was that it would meet the target to increase elective activity to 129% of 2019–20 levels by 2024–25.20 In some ways, this is the most important target because increasing activity is what will enable all the other targets to be met. We noted the importance of reaching higher levels of activity as soon as possible so as to begin reducing the backlog of people waiting for elective care. NHSE told us that it continued to aim for 129% in 2024–25 but that it recognised it would need to “re-profile” its trajectories for getting there.21