NHS is meeting waiting list targets, says minister
29 May 2008 00:00 in Medical Government/ NHS related news
More patients are receiving hospital treatment within the government target time of 18 weeks from GP referral, according to health minister Dawn Primarolo.
Statistics published by her department show that by March this year between 85 per cent and 90 per cent of all patients had begun receiving treatment within 18 weeks of seeing their GP.
Ms Primarolo said the figures were indicative of a "major achievement" for hospitals and primary care trusts and that government targets of 100 per cent of patients commencing treatment within this timeframe would be reached by December.
"Ten years ago it was not uncommon to wait 18 months or more for treatment and people died languishing on waiting lists," she added.
She went on to say it is "fantastic" this percentage of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks.
Recent figures published by Citizens Advice reveals however that millions of people are unable to access NHS dental treatment, with 4.7 million going private and about 2.7 million forgoing treatment altogether between April 2006 and January 2008.
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