Shortest hospital waits ever in Lambeth
Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, congratulates NHS staff in Lambeth on the latest waiting list figures.
The NHS now has the shortest waits since its records began, Labour Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced on Thursday (26 March 2009).
New data shows that in Lambeth and across England the NHS has met its target to treat patients within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral by their GP – an achievement which was unimaginable 12 years ago. Commenting on the figures, Umunna (pictured, right, with Johnson) said:
“This is a tremendous achievement by NHS clinicians and staff in Lambeth who should be proud of the difference their hard work has made to the experience of every NHS patient.
“Achieving the shortest waits since NHS records began has made a huge difference to patients’ experiences of the NHS. In the 1990s it was not uncommon for people to wait 18 months or more for their operation – with some people dying on the waiting list.
“The NHS is one of our country’s greatest achievements and I will always stand up for it. I’m proud that over the last 12 years, we have made sure the NHS has the staff it needs and backed them to deliver improvements in standards and driving down waits. Today’s news is further evidence that this investment has worked.”
This latest news also follows the roll out of extended GP opening hours which the government has made a priority. 44 of the 52 GP practices in Lambeth offer extended opening hours including the Exchange Surgery and Streatham High Practice both situated in the new Gracefield Gardens Health Centre in Streatham, one of 152 new GP led health centres opened or opening across the country.
