An NHS initiative aimed at improving access to healthcare for serving Armed Forces personnel has reduced waiting times by more than four weeks in two important medical specialities.
The Further Faster Armed Forces (FF-AF) programme, a partnership between NHS England and Defence Medical Services, has been working with 20 NHS trusts serving large military communities to identify and overcome delays in treatment.
According to NHS England, the initiative achieved substantial reductions in waiting times during the first six months of 2026.
Significant reductions in waiting times
The initial programme concentrated on two specialities with particularly large waiting lists for serving personnel – ear, nose and throat (ENT) treatment, and trauma and orthopaedics.
In participating NHS trusts:
- Ear, nose and throat: Median waiting times fell from 16.9 weeks to 11.8 weeks – a reduction of 5.1 weeks.
- Trauma and orthopaedics: Median waiting times fell from 13.9 weeks to 9.7 weeks – a reduction of 4.2 weeks.
Across the two specialities, NHS England reports an average reduction of four weeks and four days.
The improvements were achieved through a specialist NHS team working with local clinical staff to review waiting lists, identify obstacles and improve the arrangements for assessing and treating patients.
Addressing the realities of military service
Serving personnel can encounter particular difficulties when accessing NHS treatment.
Frequent postings may involve moving between NHS areas while awaiting assessment or treatment. This can interrupt an existing treatment pathway, sometimes resulting in reassessment, transfers between providers or further delays.
These problems can have consequences both for the individuals concerned and for operational readiness, particularly where an injury or medical condition prevents a service person from returning to full duties.
Professor Tim Briggs, who leads the Further Faster Armed Forces partnership, said:
"Those who serve our country should not face unnecessary delays in accessing NHS care because of where they are posted or the demands of military life."
Surgeon Captain Nick Imm, the senior military lead for the partnership, welcomed the improvements and highlighted the benefits of more proactive management of healthcare for serving personnel.
Scope for further improvements
The NHS and Defence Medical Services are now considering whether the approach can be extended to other medical specialities and NHS trusts treating serving Armed Forces personnel.
The published results relate to the 20 participating trusts and the two specialities covered by the initial phase. They should not therefore be taken as evidence of an equivalent reduction in waiting times across all NHS treatment for military personnel.
Nevertheless, the results are encouraging.
BAFF welcomes practical measures that improve access to healthcare for serving personnel and reduce the disruption caused by the particular demands of military service. Faster treatment and better continuity of care benefit individual patients and their families, as well as the effectiveness of the Armed Forces.
The next challenge will be to build on these improvements and ensure that personnel elsewhere can benefit from similarly effective arrangements.