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Press Releases
Almost one in four PCTs asking patients to wait longer for hospital treatment
to help bring down deficits
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A BBC survey suggests a quarter of all primary care trusts (PCTs) in England
are asking patients to wait longer for hospital treatment in an attempt to
bring down NHS deficits.
Some trusts are imposing minimum waiting times, while others are telling
patients and GPs that they will not pay for certain treatments to be done until
after April.
Primary care trusts manage about 80% of the total NHS budget and are
responsible for paying the bills for hospital treatment for patients in their
area.
They can make patients wait longer as long as they do not break the
current Government target for maximum waiting time for inpatient treatment,
which is six months.
The BBC surveyed all 152 trusts in England, 68% of the PCTs responded.
The BBC asked them: "have you asked your local providers to extend waiting times
for routine surgery or imposed minimum waits".
Twenty-four per cent of respondents said
yes; while 71% of the PCTs that responded said they were not asking local
providers to extend waiting times for routine surgery or impose minimum waits.
The latest Government
figures show 40% of PCTs are forecasting deficits for the end of the financial
year.
A report will be shown on the Six O'Clock News (BBC One and BBC News 24).
Notes to Editors
Any use of the above should be credited to BBC News.
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