The deal, which is expected to deliver up to an extra one million appointments a year for NHS patients, was published alongside the Government and NHS's elective reform plan on 6 January.

Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: ‘I'm not going to allow working people to wait longer than is necessary, when we can get them treated sooner in a private hospital, paid for by the NHS. If the wealthy can be treated on time, then so should NHS patients.'

The new deal will set out how independent sector capacity can be used to tackle some of the longest waits in specialist areas of treatment, such as gynaecology, where there is a backlog of 260,000 women waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.

Orthopaedics will also be a key focus, where over 40% of patients are waiting longer than the 18-week target.

The agreement will also give patients in more deprived areas, where NHS provision is more limited, a greater choice over where they are treated.

Under the plan, the independent sector will:

•         work on aligning NHS and independent sector digital systems around a national set of standards so patients can more easily see appointments and results on the NHS App  
•        encourage longer-term contractual relationships to be established, enabling further independent sector investment in NHS capacity 
•         work together to grow and develop the elective workforce, including ensuring training occurs consistently in the independent sector.

The partnership is key to the Government's plans to meet the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients in England will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, which has not been consistently met since 2015.