Thousands waiting for over a year for NHS operations

A local Conservative has hit out after starting new evidence shows people in Burton and Uttoxeter could be waiting over a year for operations. New Government figures have for the first time exposed the actual waiting times patients face across the West Midlands for hospital operations, and the stark regional variations patients face in accessing vital NHS care under Labour.

Analysis of the official figures shows how almost 500,000 people each year are forced to wait for over 12 months for hospital treatment, with 44,000 patients in the West Midlands forced to wait over a year for operations after being referred by their local GP.

Commenting, Andrew Griffiths, Burton and Uttoxeter’s Parliamentary spokesmen said:

"These figures make shocking reading. For years, patients have been forced to hear Gordon Brown talk about how no-one waits more than six months for an operation. I know that our local Primary Care Trust is doing everything possible to see people as quickly as they can, but this kind of wait causes real misery for those concerned. I am keen to hear from anyone in Burton or Uttoxeter who has had to wait more than a year."

"NHS staff work hard every day to deliver improvements in patient care, but they are held back by a top-down, target-driven culture imposed on the NHS by Gordon Brown. We need to take politicians out of the running of the NHS, and set doctors and nurses free to make the decisions about patients based on their need, rather than a central target."