Drop in NHS waiting lists

Friday, 28 October 2005 12:00 AM

The number of people who have to wait more than six months for NHS treatment has more than halved, according to the latest Department of Health statistics.

They show that the number of patients waiting more than six months to be treated at an NHS hospital fell by 55.5 per cent in September to 33,500 - compared to 73,500 at the same time last year.

However, the new figures are still a long way off targets set by the government to cut waiting times for hospital treatment to 18 weeks.

And the number of people waiting for over nine months for an operation increased to 69, up from 24 in August.

Liberal Democrat health secretary Steve Webb attacked the government over the figures, saying that they "do not tell the true story of waiting times in the NHS".

"They ignore all the people waiting months or even years for a diagnosis before they get on the official waiting list," he said.

A Department of Health spokesman admitted there had been problems in the past with waiting times statistics but that these were being ironed out.

"Ministers have pledged to tackle hidden waits for procedures such as diagnostic tests by starting the clock from the moment a GP refers a patient for an operation or other form of treatment," he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health announced this week that the government is pushing forward with plans to cut waiting times from initial referral to the start of treatment to 18 weeks by 2008.

Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has launched an exercise to encourage the NHS and patient groups to tell the Department of Health how they think the target can be achieved.

The waiting list reforms mean that Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) will be solely responsible for ensuring that all local health providers meet the new 18-week target.

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