New study shows increase in waiting times for NHS operations

Waiting times for elective surgical procedures among NHS patients saw an increase of six percent in 2011 compared to 2010, according to a new report.

Data collected by the Patients Association via a Freedom of Information request to NHS acute trusts in England shows that the largest increase in waiting times was for knee replacements, with patients waiting an additional 10.3 days on average last year.

This trend was accompanied by a 4.6 percent drop in the number of surgical procedures that were actually carried out, with cataract operations seeing the sharpest decline.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said this information runs contrary to government claims that NHS waiting times are dropping.

She added: "Action must be taken now to ensure that the upward trend on waiting times and downward trend for the number of procedures conducted does not continue into 2013 and beyond."

The conclusions of the report have since been refuted by health secretary Andrew Lansley, who claimed that the number of people waiting more than a year for treatment has reduced by two-thirds since the coalition government took office.