MEASURES ON HIDDEN WAITING LISTS "LONG OVERDUE"

4.49.58pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 25th Jul 2005

Patients forced to wait more than a year for diagnostic scans will be seen within six months under new plans to tackle hidden 'black holes' on NHS waiting lists. Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, said it was 'just not acceptable' that some people were having to wait so long to find out what was wrong with them.

Measures to tackle the unacceptable hidden waiting lists in the NHS are long overdue. With record investment going into the health service over the last eight years questions must be asked over why the NHS can not cope with the demand for scans. With this approach there is a danger that the NHS will end up paying inflated prices for buying in private sector scans when it would be better value to expand NHS capacity. The long term goal must be that the NHS can cope with demand for scans rather than having to rely on sticking plaster solutions.