Ministers are ordering a crackdown on
"hidden" waiting in the NHS in England.
Hospitals currently have to see non-urgent patients within 18 weeks but there
are nearly 250,000 on lists who have waited for longer than this.Ministers believe there is not enough incentive for these patients to be treated, meaning some are left "languishing" unnecessarily.
They are demanding NHS managers reduce the number of long waiters by about 50,000 by April.
The whole backlog is not being targeted as it is accepted that some patients wait longer than 18 weeks for justifiable clinical reasons - perhaps because they have to lose weight before having surgery or for personal or work commitments.
There is particular concern within the government about some of the longest waits being seen. Among the 250,000 who have been waiting for longer than 18 weeks are just over 100,000 who have waited for more than six months and 20,000 waiting at least a year.
However, these figures should be seen in the context of
the total size of the waiting list, which currently stands at 2.6 million for
non-emergency care, such as knee and hip replacements.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has blamed the targets established by the
Labour government which he said had created a perverse incentive whereby the NHS
was free to leave patients "languishing" on waiting lists.He said: "Because of Labour's perverse approach, the NHS actually had an incentive not to treat patients.
"The new approach we will take from next year will clamp down on this practice. We will reduce the number of patients on hidden waiting lists, ensuring everyone gets access to the treatment they need."
Jo Webber, deputy policy director of the NHS Confederation, said she welcomed what the government was trying to do.
"This indicator will shine a spotlight on one of the many aspects of patient waiting the government does not currently measure."
NHS waiting in numbers
- There are currently 2.6 million patients on waiting lists for non-emergency treatment in England
- Of those, nearly 250,000 have waited for longer than 18 weeks
- Of which, just over 100,000 have waited for longer than six months and 20,000 for more than a year
- The NHS sees about 300,000 in-patients a month and nearly 900,000 out-patients
But shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the
government was having to introduce these new rules because of Mr Lansley's
failure to "get a grip" on waiting times.
