Hospital waiting time targets relaxed

Over 50 hospitals in England have been given the green light to miss key waiting time targets this year to help stem financial issues.

NHS bosses announced the move as part of a package of measures aimed at tackling hospitals which have exceeded their budgets by a record amount. Fines for missing targets in A&E, cancer and routine operation have been scrapped.

Furthermore, a new failure regime has been set up for the worst-performing trusts, which will see regulators appoint senior managers into the hospitals to help devise plans to help the hospital overcome its problems.

So far five trusts have already been placed into the new regime, including Barts Health in London, Croydon Health Services, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals and North Bristol.

The relaxation of rules over waiting time targets is the most radical element of the announcement made by NHS bosses. In order to secure an extra portion of the money being invested in the NHS, hospitals will simply need to improve on their current performance.

Health bosses believe the measures will help reduce the NHS’ deficit to £250 million, after an overspend of £2.5 billion in 2015-16.

However, the move has created much opposition. Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the patients Association warned: "This is the slippery slope back to the bad old days of never-ending waiting times and uncertainty - with patients left endlessly on A&E trolleys and waiting for life-changing operations. Where is it all going to end?"

Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, commented: "Precisely because the pressures across the NHS are real and growing, we need to use this year both to stabilise finances and kickstart the wider changes everyone can see are needed."