Waiting lists. The wrong target.

Abstract

The numbers now waiting for treatment in the NHS are more than double what they were in 1948 despite huge increases in activity. Increased activity has not reduced the time patients wait. Mean waiting times in the 1990s were 13-14 weeks, the same as in the 1960s and 1970s. An increase in activity to reduce the numbers waiting for treatment may, in fact, increase the number being put on the waiting list. Government targets should concentrate on how long individual patients have to wait, rather than reducing the numbers on the waiting list.