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Press Releases
Almost one in four PCTs asking patients to wait longer for hospital treatment
to help bring down deficits
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A Â鶹Éç survey suggests a quarter of all primary care trusts (PCTs) in England
are asking patients to wait longer for hospital treatment in an attempt to
bring down NHS deficits.
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Some trusts are imposing minimum waiting times, while others are telling
patients and GPs that they will not pay for certain treatments to be done until
after April.
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Primary care trusts manage about 80% of the total NHS budget and are
responsible for paying the bills for hospital treatment for patients in their
area.
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They can make patients wait longer as long as they do not break the
current Government target for maximum waiting time for inpatient treatment,
which is six months.
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The Â鶹Éç surveyed all 152 trusts in England, 68% of the PCTs responded.
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The Â鶹Éç asked them: "have you asked your local providers to extend waiting times
for routine surgery or imposed minimum waits".
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Twenty-four per cent of respondents said
yes; while 71% of the PCTs that responded said they were not asking local
providers to extend waiting times for routine surgery or impose minimum waits.
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The latest Government
figures show 40% of PCTs are forecasting deficits for the end of the financial
year.
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A report will be shown on the Six O'Clock News (Â鶹Éç One and Â鶹Éç News 24).
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Notes to Editors
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Any use of the above should be credited to Â鶹Éç News.
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