Hospital waiting lists rise

Friday, 11 March 2005 12:00 AM

The number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England rose for the second successive month in January, Department of Health figures have revealed.

A total of 861,900 patients were on NHS waiting lists at the end of January 2005, a rise of 3,900 on those waiting at the end of December - itself a rise of 14,000 on those waiting at the end of November.

However, January's figures are down by 107,000 on the figures for January 2004. And the number of patients waiting over nine months at the end of January 2005 was down to 56 - a fall of 29,700 on January 2004.

Figures also published today by the department reveal a record number of critical care beds in the NHS.

The number has increased from 2,362 in January 2000, to 3,213 in January 2005 - an increase of 36 per cent.

Health Secretary John Reid said: "The hard work of the NHS, together with the £285m additional funding that we've specifically provided for critical care since 2000, has meant we've exceeded the target set four years ago to increase the number of beds.

"However, I know we need to do even more to increase capacity. That's why I'm committed to putting record levels of investment into the NHS so that critical care can be further improved."

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