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Referral to Treatment statistics for June 2011 - Department of Health statement

Government Communications (NDS)

18 August 2011

Health Minister Simon Burns said:"Average waiting times are low and remain stable. The vast majority of patients still receive treatment within 18 weeks."We are committed to driving improvements in performance and the quality of care that the NHS provides - including keeping waiting times low.”BACKGROUNDToday's figures for June 2011 show:The vast majority of patients were referred to treatment within 18 weeks: 90.2% of hospital inpatients and 97.6% of outpatients started treatment in 18 weeks or under from referral.Monthly figures do fluctuate but remain low: the average waiting times for admitted patients being treated was 8.3 weeks in June 2010 and is 8.7 weeks in June 2011.The proportion of those patients not seen within 18 weeks remains low: 2.4% of outpatients and 9.8% of inpatients waited more than 18 weeks in June 2011.The NHS is tackling the backlog of people who are waiting the longest – the number of people still waiting over 6 months is coming down.Average waiting times for admitted patients have fluctuated between 7.6 weeks and 9.1 weeks since December 2008. The latest monthly figures show average waiting times at 8.7 weeks.Average waiting times for non-admitted patients have fluctuated between 3.5 weeks and 4.9 weeks since December 2008. The latest monthly figures show average waiting times at 4.0 weeks.