07 March 2008
Average NHS waiting times have risen since 1997, according to new Department of Health figures.
The statistics, published on February 29, show that since 1997-98, the average median waiting time for hospital appointments has risen from 41 days to 47 days in 2006-07.
The figures published by the NHS Information Centre, however, show some cancer waiting times have increased slightly, while there have been significant reductions in waiting times for minor conditions such as cataract operations.
The government said the figures were 'misleading'. Health minister Ben Bradshaw said: 'The real mean average waiting time for all inpatients has fallen dramatically from 89 days in 1997 to 73 days now, and long waits have fallen even more.'
However, he admitted that 'statistically' it is 'more difficult to make an impact on the median time people waited'. He added: 'We make no apologies for concentrating our efforts on those people waiting for appallingly long times.
'Now that the NHS has tackled the problem of very long waits, median waits should continue to fall as we work towards achieving the 18-week target by the end of the year.'
The government claims median waiting times have also fallen from 13 weeks in 1997 to five weeks at present if patients who are waiting, as well as those who have been seen but awaiting follow-up treatment, are counted together.
However, the chair of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, Dr Jonathan Fielden, said: 'All that has happened is that the government has put an end to the really long waits and the really short waits. It is wrong to say that all patient care has improved because of shorter waits.'
PFmar2008
