Rishi Sunak has unveiled a 15-year plan to ‘transform’ the NHS, in an announcement he described as ‘one of the most significant’ in the health service’s history.

The prime minister said the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will represent the largest expansion of workforce training ever undertaken by the service, while the ‘latest techniques and innovations’ will get people from ‘classroom to clinic’ quicker.

It comes at a difficult time for the NHS, with the overall waiting list higher than it has ever been.

Another strike by junior doctors in England is also on the horizon, their fourth round of industrial action as they call for ‘full pay restoration’.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg for her Sunday morning BBC show, the PM said the number of people waiting two years for treatment was ‘practically eliminated’ last year.

When told that the number of people on the NHS waiting list as a whole was growing, he responded: ‘It’s because we’ve had a pandemic, Laura, the backlog that ensued was always going to take some time to work through…

‘Because of our record investment today, because of the plans that we’ve put in place, we are seeing that waiting lists are coming down for individual people.

‘I’ve always said the overall waiting list was not going to come down until next year.’

Rishi Sunak told Laura Kuenssberg he didn’t expect the number of people on the NHS waiting list to fall this year (Picture: Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street)

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Sunak said the new plan would be vital to help bring about his government’s vision for ‘a better, more modern healthcare system’.

He wrote: ‘The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will be the biggest workforce training expansion in the NHS’s history. It will ensure we train, retain, reform and make the most of our talented and experienced staff.

‘It will be a 15-year plan to give the NHS certainty, because we recognise it takes time to train these staff, who are among the most highly skilled in our society.’

The government was making the announcement ‘in conjunction with the NHS’, the article said, and it would be made possible with the backing of ‘government funding and support, balanced against the wider pressures on the economy’.

In the BBC interview, Mr Sunak said: ‘It’s not my plan, it’s the NHS’s plan.

‘It’s the NHS’s Long-Term Workforce Plan that I’m pleased the government will be fully supporting and backing.’

Junior doctors are planning to go ahead with what is believed to be the longest strike in NHS history next month (Picture: Daniel Leal/AFP)

On Monday, the British Medical Association said junior doctors would be striking for five days between July 13 and 18 in a dispute over pay.

The walkout is believed to be the longest in the history of the health service.

Asked about the looming strike by Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Sunak said: ‘We’ve reached an agreement with over half a dozen NHS unions, representing over a million NHS workers, who accepted our pay deal which was done a little while ago.’

He added: ‘I have to make difficult decisions as prime minister, everyone can see the context that we’re in with inflation and interest rates.

‘I want to prioritise the things that are right for the country – so yes, we’re investing in the Long-Term Workforce Plan.

‘When it comes to public sector pay, I’m going to do what I think is affordable, what I think is responsible. That may not always be popular in the short term, but it’s the right thing for the country.’

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The PM said he did not expect the NHS waiting list to reduce this year.