Waiting Times (Diagnostics)

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 22 February 2005.

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Photo of John Reid John Reid Secretary of State, Department of Health, The Secretary of State for Health 11:30, 22 February 2005

There is continual liaison with the Department on this matter. Before embarking on this course of action, the Department consulted widely on it, including with the royal colleges, and we will continue to try to identify any problems involved. We should not pretend that there are never any problems in diagnostics in the NHS. There are, and they include huge delays, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that, as a result of the medical programme to which he referred, waiting times for diagnostics have been cut right across the NHS. For instance, in Huddersfield, access times have been cut from 38 weeks to eight weeks; in Ipswich, they have been cut from more than 30 weeks to five weeks; and in Newham, they have been cut from 18 weeks to less than a week. While I accept that we have to deal with the problems that arise—including problems involving a degree of Opposition to any novel procurement outside the NHS from people inside it; we have to take that into account—the patient must come first. The patient is getting far better, quicker service than ever before and, I repeat, all of it is free at the point of need.

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