The Department of Health stressed that all waiting list indicators were lower than a year ago and blamed the
The Department of Health stressed that all waiting list indicators were lower than a year ago and blamed the pressure of increased emergency admissions for the increase.But opposition MPs attacked the Government and accused ministers of forcing more people to wait for diagnosis to help officials hit waiting list targets.Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, accused ministers of keeping outpatient waiting times high to stop increases in "headline" hospital waiting lists. He said: "These are the results of the dreadful under-capacity of the NHS and the pressure to treat waiting list patients first The figures show a problem. It is far more dangerous for people to wait to see a consultant because they are not diagnosed."Dr Liam Fox, the Conservative health spokesman, said: "The present statistics show an alarming increase in the number of patients waiting to see their consultants. The Government must tackle this, particularly because of the anxiety that the wait will cause for patients at a difficult time."Peter Hawker, the chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants committee said: "Although huge efforts are being made to bring waiting times down, it will take time to achieve the expansion in the numbers of consultants needed to make a sustained impact on waiting times."The latest waiting figures confirm a long-standing picture of a hospital service under huge pressure. Because of the requirement to see suspected cancer cases within two weeks, a lot of other patients are having to wait longer for their first appointment and may well account for the big rise in the number waiting more than three months."Mr Hawker added: "From the patient's point of view, it makes a huge difference whether you are waiting 14 weeks or 24 weeks for an appointment – but for the statisticians, all these patients fall into one group. That shows the limitations of the waiting list targets set for NHS managers."Ministers have dropped overall waiting list targets in favour of a target of a maximum six-month wait for treatment by 2005. Mr Milburn announced in June that waiting list targets would be replaced with "a concerted drive to reduce waiting times".Hazel Blears, a health minister, defended the rises in waiting times and said all indicators were lower than at the same point last year.
Rises in some waiting times were caused by the NHS giving priority to urgent cases during the winter, she claimed."The NHS had a quiet triumph last winter, when patients who needed urgent or emergency care got it quickly and without fuss. The NHS got its priorities right, but unfortunately that means a backlog built up which is now being worked through," she said.. The blue-rinse set living out their golden years in honey-coloured cottages is a Cotswolds tradition, but also a truism that now requires some rethinking. This area of outstanding natural beauty is attracting a growing number of young families and foreigners, as well as comfortably-off retirees. Moneynetmortgagessearch The blue-rinse set living out their golden years in honey-coloured cottages is a Cotswolds tradition, but also a truism that now requires some rethinking.
This area of outstanding natural beauty is attracting a growing number of young families and foreigners, as well as comfortably-off retirees. "It is aesthetically very pleasing, and we have many fine local amenities, including good schools, tennis courts and plenty of restaurants," says Rachel Measures of Hamptons estate agent. "For commuting, Stratford-upon-Avon is only 11 miles and Birmingham is less than 30." The schools play an important role in retaining as well as luring buyers. "The school catchment area is very sought after, and people don't move because they don't want to take their children from the schools. Some Cotswolds areas still have many retirees, but Chipping Campden has a cosmopolitan mix."Totalling nearly 8,000 square miles, the Cotswolds occupy a range of mostly modest 500ft hills, with Cleeve Hill north of Cheltenham soaring to 1,031ft.