JAVID PLANS NEW RESERVISTS FORCE TO BOLSTER AILING NHS

HEALTH Secretary Sajid Javid today announces the formation of a national force of ‘NHS Reservists’ to take pressure off the beleaguered service over the winter.

The scheme, modelled on the Army Reserve, will call on retired doctors and nurses – and trained staff with both clinical and nonclinical backgrounds, such as IT experts and logistics specialists – to bolster personnel levels at hospitals and help with the booster vaccination campaign.

The move follows successful trial projects which, Mr Javid said, showed ‘high levels of local enthusiasm’.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Mr Javid says: ‘Health has got to be one of the most important jobs in the country right now.

I’ve never felt I’ve been in such a responsible position.’

Mr Javid is also expected to set out measures shortly to tackle the backlog of hospital appointments, which is now forecast to peak at an astonishing 13 million.

He also wants to introduce reforms to reduce the waste which saps the Health Service’s gargantuan £162billion annual budget.