Increase to hospital waiting times in the UK

Waiting times for elective surgical procedures among NHS patients saw an increase of six percent in 2011 compared to 2010, according to a new report. Data collected by the Patients’ Association via a Freedom of Information request to NHS acute trusts in England shows that the largest increase in waiting times was for knee replacements, with patients waiting an additional 10.3 days on average last year. This trend was accompanied by a 4.6 percent drop in the number of surgical procedures that were actually carried out, with cataract operations seeing the sharpest decline. This information runs contrary to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government claims that NHS waiting times are dropping. For more information, see the Patients’ Association