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NHS still keeps one million patients waiting for more than a year
Last updated at 08:22am on 09.11.07
After GP referral more than one in five patients don't get seen by a specialist within 24 weeks
One in ten wait for more than 12 months and a quarter more than six months, according to figures.
Overall 72 per cent of patients who completed their treatment in August waited less than the Government target of 18 weeks.
This marks a record low average waiting time.
Ministers claim it means the NHS is on track to achieve 18 weeks for all patients by the end of next year.
But there were wide variations between parts of the country, and between medical specialties.
In a quarter of trusts, waiting times are actually getting worse.
Despite the figures, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw insists the NHS is on course to hit its targets
And the Department of Health figures are an estimate because the waiting times of only two thirds of patients are recorded - raising the possibility that the extent of waiting is being underestimated.
The 18-week target measures the amount of time a patient waits from the time a GP refers them to a specialist to the time they receive the treatment.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said that ten years ago it was common for patients to wait 18 months for an operation.
"Since then, the NHS has come a long way and it is making good progress towards effectively ending waiting next year," he added.
"With millions of patients in the system at any one time, it is encouraging that the majority of patients are already being seen within 18 weeks.
"Some places are making progress faster than others, but I'm confident that by the end of 2008, patients can expect to start their treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment."
In August, 72 per cent of all patients were treated within 18 weeks. More than one million completed their treatment in that month. But around ten per cent - about 100,000 - had waited longer than 52 weeks.
Around 12 million patients are treated by the NHS over a 12-month period, suggesting that more than a million are waiting longer than a year.
The figures are broken down into those who are admitted to hospital and those who complete their treatment without having to go into hospital.
Of those who were admitted, 56 per cent were treated within 18 weeks - up from 54 per cent the year before.
But there is a postcode lottery. Only 31 per cent of admitted patients in the London borough of Brent are treated in 18 weeks - the worst performance in the country.
And in some areas, waiting times were getting worse. In 37 of the 152 primary care trusts, fewer patients were waiting less than 18 weeks in August than in July.
In Suffolk there was a massive fall from 61 per cent meeting the 18 week target in July to just 35 per cent in August.
Among those not admitted to hospital - which makes up twothirds of all NHS patients - 76 per cent were treated within 18 weeks.
But this varies across the country from 85 per cent in the North West to just 63 per cent in the South-East Coast region, which covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
There were also wide variations across different types of medical treatment. Only 36 per cent admitted to hospital for orthopaedics - such as those wanting a hip replacement - were treated within the 18 week limit.
The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the 18-week target - a move which Labour says will lead to rising waiting times.
Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: "David Cameron and I have said on countless occasions that the effect of this target will be that patients who should be treated more quickly are forced to wait until 18 weeks; that will distort clinical priorities and harm patients.
"We need a health service in which professionals are freed from central targets and able to respond to the needs of patients, while being accountable for the quality and outcome they deliver."
Reader views (2)
I think the emphasis on waiting times may well be diverting attention from the quality of treatment and care. Being seen and treated quickly is only truly helpful if diagnosis and treatment are correct. Not long back a relative visited an A&E department having damaged an ankle in a fall. She was seen, X-rayed and treated within 40 minutes for a sprained ankle, which some weeks, and pain, later was re-diagnosed as broken. No doubt her visit was claimed a success, but we would beg to differ.
- James Elliott, Eastbourne, UK
The NHS is just juggling numbers: my mum went from a waiting list for a hip replacement to a 'scheduled' list - even though no date had been set and no one had tried to contact her to schedule an operation. Sad but true.
- Marianne, SW France
