We know that having prompt access to NHS treatment and care is extremely important to you. And that you expect the NHS care you receive (from medical, nursing and other staff) to be of a high standard.
Over the last few years the NHS has been improving services for when you need urgent attention, for example, for the treatment of heart disease or cancer. And if you need emergency treatment, you can now expect to be seen, treated, discharged or admitted within four hours.
Good progress has already been made and the NHS is now improving waiting times for the treatment of routine conditions, for example hip replacement operations.
Waiting for treatment or an operation can be an anxious time. You might be in discomfort, not able to live the day-to-day life you want, or be relying on friends or family for support. With this in mind the NHS is now working to provide care and treatment promptly for so-called “routine” or “non-emergency” care.
Waiting times for your first outpatient appointment, and for an operation once a diagnosis has been made, are at an all-time low. However, until now you may have been on one waiting list for an outpatient appointment, another for tests or scans, and yet another for an operation.
Things are changing
In the early 1990s waits of over six months for your first outpatient appointment were not uncommon and tens of thousands of you waited over two years for your operation.
By December 2008, the longest you will wait from being referred by your GP and starting your treatment will be 18 weeks.
Wherever possible you will wait less than this. Any hospital appointments, tests, scans or other procedures that you may need before being treated will all happen within this maximum time limit.
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