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PM outlining '24/7 surgery' plans PM outlining '24/7 surgery' plans
(about 2 hours later)
"Round-the-clock" surgery could be introduced in England to help cut NHS waiting times to a maximum of 18 weeks, Tony Blair is to say."Round-the-clock" surgery could be introduced in England to help cut NHS waiting times to a maximum of 18 weeks, Tony Blair is to say.
He will suggest the idea of keeping operating theatres open "out of hours" during a visit to a London hospital.He will suggest the idea of keeping operating theatres open "out of hours" during a visit to a London hospital.
The government wants the 18-week limit between GP referral and treatment to be met by the end of 2008 - 13 trusts are committing to hit it a year early. The government wants the 18-week limit between GP referral and treatment to be met by the end of 2008 - 13 trusts hope to meet it a year early.
The Tories said the target would distort priorities in the NHS.The Tories said the target would distort priorities in the NHS.
We're not going to get away without doing more work Matthew Kershaw, East Kent District Hospitals
And the British Medical Association said it was wrong to simply focus on waiting times rather than the total care a patient receives.
The push comes as the Times newspaper reveals a poll of 3,000 doctors found more than half believe there has been no improvement in the NHS since 2002 when the government started to improve funding.
Almost three quarters felt the money had not been well spent.
'National campaign''National campaign'
Next month a nationwide campaign will aim "to focus the activities of all NHS staff" on cutting waiting times. Next month, a nationwide campaign will aim "to focus the activities of all NHS staff" on cutting waiting times.
Hospital bosses will also be encouraged to send more patients abroad and make greater use of the private sector.Hospital bosses will also be encouraged to send more patients abroad and make greater use of the private sector.
Mr Blair hopes that with an extra push the average wait from referral by GP to treatment could be cut to seven or eight weeks. Mr Blair hopes that, with an extra push, the average wait from referral by GP to treatment could be cut to seven or eight weeks.
The reality is that in many parts of the country PCTs deep in deficit are slowing down patient referrals to hospital Liberal Democrat Norman LambThe reality is that in many parts of the country PCTs deep in deficit are slowing down patient referrals to hospital Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb
But he will also urge patients to play their part by making sure they keep their appointments.But he will also urge patients to play their part by making sure they keep their appointments.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who will accompany Mr Blair on Monday's visit, said: "This is about the NHS helping change people's lives by improving care and cutting unnecessary delays. The government's target says no patient should wait longer than 18 weeks for their operation by the end of 2008 - although there are likely to be exceptions for clinical reasons or if patients opt to wait longer.
"This will lead to a much better experience for patients." The 13 trusts who are seeking "early achiever" status have been set a target that 90% of patients needing hospital admission and 95% of those who can be cared for in other ways will be treated within 18 weeks by the end of 2007.
Health minister Andy Burnham said: "The necessary improvements will be achieved by NHS staff, clinicians and managers working together locally to understand how they can reduce unnecessary delays, rather than being told what to do and how to do it from Whitehall." East Kent is one of the areas which has set itself the "early achiever" target.
He told BBC Five Live that offering staff the option of working longer days was a "fantastic vision" that would end hospital waiting "as we have known it" by 2008. Some areas are well on track - 80% of those patients who do not need to be admitted for operations are already seen within that time.
Some hospitals are already keeping their operating theatres open longer. But in orthopaedics, only just over 10% of patients go from GP referral to operation within 18 weeks.
In Yeovil District Hospital, in Somerset, staff work late four nights a week, keeping theatres and clinics running. Matthew Kershaw, chief operating officer at East Kent District Hospitals, says s said: "We're not going to get away without doing more work. We're looking at whether we do additional theatre sessions during the day, in the evening and at weekends."
"But we will also have to look at how patients are put on the list, whether all those who are on the list should be there and if they can be treated another way - such as with physiotherapy or by a rheumatologist."
Health minister Andy Burnham told BBC Five Live: "The necessary improvements will be achieved by NHS staff, clinicians and managers working together locally to understand how they can reduce unnecessary delays, rather than being told what to do and how to do it from Whitehall."
He said offering staff the option of working longer days was a "fantastic vision" that would end hospital waiting "as we have known it" by 2008.
'Efficient care''Efficient care'
A Downing Street spokesman said: "Hitting the 18-week target will see an end of waiting for treatment as we traditionally know it. But Dr Jonathan Fielden, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, said more was needed than simply looking at longer opening times for operating theatres.
"It will mean an end to worrying about unfixed appointments, an end to concerns about falling off waiting lists and delivering the sort of efficient care that people assumed in the past could only be provided to the privileged or lucky." "This focuses just on the area of surgery. Patients don't want to be treated as production line items - they want personal care."
He said only concerted efforts by GPs and hospital staff working together would improve the patient's "pathway" through their NHS care.
Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb said in some areas it was primary care trusts (PCTs) not hospitals that needed attention.Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb said in some areas it was primary care trusts (PCTs) not hospitals that needed attention.
"It makes sense to maximise the use of theatre space to treat patients as quickly as possible," he said."It makes sense to maximise the use of theatre space to treat patients as quickly as possible," he said.
"But the reality is that in many parts of the country PCTs deep in deficit are slowing down patient referrals to hospital, extending waiting times rather than reducing them.""But the reality is that in many parts of the country PCTs deep in deficit are slowing down patient referrals to hospital, extending waiting times rather than reducing them."
But Mr Burnham said this was not the "true picture". The vast majority of NHS trusts were "improving and bringing down waiting lists", he said. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, given the amount of investment in the NHS, waiting lists should already have fallen further.
The Conservatives said the waiting-time target would distort priorities in the health service and divert resources from where they are most needed. He added: "The issue really is one of capacity and choice because if you have patients with their GPs able to exercise choice, they're able to look at issues like waiting times, they're also able to look at things like access arrangements and infection rates and they then will be able to create the kind of pressures to deliver improving performance, which actually the NHS has had too little of."