Postcode lottery 'puts lives at risk'

A new row has broken out over NHS waiting lists after government figures revealed patients in Greater London are forced to wait up to twice as long for operations as those in the rest of the country.

The worst queues in the capital are for ear, nose and throat treatment, gynaecology, urology, and heart surgery — with waiting lists for other operations double the average length.

Today patient groups called for urgent measures to tackle the backlog — warning that lives were being put at risk.

Cutting delay times is one of the Government’s top priorities — with the number of patients waiting for treatment falling by 30,000 since 1997.

The row broke on the same day as a separate Department of Health report focusing on more positive aspects of the NHS claims that nationally, waiting times have been slashed and the numbers of new doctors and nurses are up by more than 45,000.

These figures are in a report by Sir Nigel Crisp, the NHS chief executive. The report says that the number of patients waiting more than six months for operations has fallen by 28.5 per cent in the past year to 177,867.

But the new London figures paint a bleak picture of the situation in the capital — suggesting that Londoners are bearing the brunt of pressure on services.

Waits are longer than average for 31 out of 56 specialities, with queues for seven different types of operation — including paediatric, certain types of cancer surgery and kidney treatment — all double the national average.
Under government rules, NHS managers must report both the length of their waiting list and the average delay for treatment.

Official figures show the longest waiting times are for treatment of nervous system illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis — with average waits of 4.5 months in London compared with 2.7 months elsewhere — and for specialised radiology treatment which has an average wait of four months in London compared with 1.72 months elsewhere.

Simon Williams, of the Patients’ Association, said: “There is simply not the capacity in London. There are not enough beds because there are not enough staff, and there are not enough staff because it is so expensive to live here.”

The figures, obtained from the Department of Health by the Liberal Democrats, reveal that 219 people for every 100,000 of the population in London are waiting for ear, nose and throat treatment. Waiting times for treatment from neurologists, certain cancer specialists, chest specialists, kidney specialists, endocrinologists and paediatric dentists are all double the national average.

Campaigners say local health authorities must be given more freedom to find ways to tackle backlogs in their area.

The authorities, called Primary Care Trusts, have 75 per cent of the total NHS budget and are responsible for commissioning hospital treatment.

Lib-Dem mayoral candidate Simon Hughes said: “Without targeted effort by ministers and the Mayor to encourage specialists and newly trained staff to come to the capital, the pressures on London medical services will continue to grow.”