The think tank Civitas yesterday issued a press release following the government announcement on waiting list targets.

While the government are heralding their success, Civitas points out that, infact, 387,152 patients are being failed by the system.

As the press release says:

But this [Government figures] conceals the very serious problems that remain:

• 713,513 (or 18.1 per cent) of elective patients still waiting for treatment in October 2007 have been waiting longer than 36 weeks, with 387,152 (9.8 per cent) of these having waited over a year.

• There is a massive postcode lottery. Just 33 per cent of patients treated in October 2007 in Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust (PCT) were treated within 18 weeks, compared with 82 per cent in Blackpool PCT and Telford & Wrekin PCT.

For more detailed information on the state of NHS waiting lists James Gubb’s excellent report can be read here.