Lib Dems pledge to cut ‘hidden’ NHS waiting lists

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to cut the NHS’ ‘hidden’ waiting lists of people awaiting diagnosis.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy promised to provide £350 million to help cut waiting times for diagnosis for around 500,000 people who, he said, are “languishing” on these “hidden” waiting lists.

The Liberal Democrats said that they had conducted research which indicated that patients could face “unacceptable” waits for essential scans.

The Liberal Democrats claimed that patients were waiting for MRI scans – used to detect tumours, cancers and serious heart conditions – for six months or more in 2 out of 5 NHS Trusts, while patients also faced a wait of six months or more for CT scans – used to diagnose cancers and serious neurological and cardiovascular conditions – in 1 out of 7 trusts.

The Liberal Democrats claimed that their research showed that many scanners are not being used, with a quarter of trusts saying that 25% or more of their on-site scanning equipment was not being used. The Liberal Democrats claimed that the main problem was a lack of funding for NHS radiology departments.

Mr Kennedy said: “At present, the government only measures the time taken from when you are diagnosed with an illness until you are actually treated. These targeted waiting times are indeed being reduced. But those on the hidden waiting lists – those waiting for tests and scans to find out what is wrong with them – have seen no action. This situation is totally unacceptable. Cutting waiting times for diagnosis will be a top priority for a Liberal Democrat government.”

Yesterday, Labour pledged to reduce the maximum waiting time for an NHS operation to 18 weeks. Speaking at a press conference, Tony Blair said that this would be done “without any hidden waits – so the 18 weeks starts from the door of the GP’s surgery and ends at the door of the hospital operating theatre.”

(KMcA/GB)