Waiting lists worse than three years ago, claim Conservatives

29 May 03
Service in some English hospitals is now worse than it was in 2000, the Conservatives claimed this week. The party compared waiting lists in March to those in December 2000. It found that at 53 of the 186 hospital trusts, there were more people waitin

30 May 2003

Service in some English hospitals is now worse than it was in 2000, the Conservatives claimed this week.

The party compared waiting lists in March to those in December 2000. It found that at 53 of the 186 hospital trusts, there were more people waiting this year than three years ago.

Only last week the Department of Health published figures showing the number of patients waiting for treatment as NHS inpatients had fallen below the 1 million mark for the first time in a decade.

But shadow health spokesman Chris Grayling claimed that these umbrella figures masked significant failures. 'Yet again we see that nothing the government does can be taken at face value. All around the country people are suffering while Alan Milburn tells us that everything is getting better,' he said.

However, the department hit back, saying the NHS was 'turning the corner' and that by 2005 no one would wait for more than six months for treatment.

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