New NHS waiting time targets

The NHS has been set the goal of treating patients within 18 weeks of GP referral by 2008. The Department of Health, who have set the toughest target since Labour came to power, have confirmed that the funding is in place to achieve the target. Many fear that care for the elderly and maternity will suffer as a result of the new goals, and some NHS staff have serious doubts whether this goal can be reached.

John Reid, Health Secretary at the time set the targets following criticisms of the waiting time between GP referral and diagnosis, which was stretching out to be months for some, and other waiting targets only kick in after diagnosis.

At the moment, over 43,000 patients are seeing a wait longer than six months for treatment, but this timescale does not include the wait from GP referral to diagnosis. The government has now promised that no-one will wait longer than six months.

Nigel Edwards, policy director at the NHS Confederation has said that while the targets have the potential to be a positive outcome for patients, there is also “a danger that by trying to do too many things at once, we lose sight of the end goal.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health spokesman said, "The new 18-week target is certainly a challenging one, but one which the NHS is more than capable of meeting.

"By 2008, funding for the NHS will be more than £92bn, an increase of more than £15bn over the next three years."