Our ref:           DE00000295963

 

9 April 2008

Dear Mr Golding,

 

Thank you for your request for information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 about waiting times for foot surgery in the Berkshire Health Authority area.  Your request was received on 1 April and it has been passed to me for reply.

 

I can confirm that the Department of Health does not collect centrally information on waiting times for specific types of surgery.

 

However, I can advise that the current operational standard is 26 weeks for inpatient/day case treatment from decision to admit and that the average wait for inpatient treatment at the end of February was 4.2 weeks.  Data also shows that 98.9 per cent (541,669) of patients waiting had waited less than 20 weeks, and 91.6 per cent (501,315) had waited less than 13 weeks.

 

As you are aware, the NHS is working towards a maximum referral to treatment time of 18 weeks.  The NHS began measuring waits for GP referral to the start of treatment since January 2007 and this enables Department and the NHS to monitor and track progress towards the 18-week target.  This data focuses on the time patients actually waited rather than the number of patients waiting.  Therefore, this new data better reflects the patient experience of waiting in the NHS. 

 

The operational standards of delivery for the NHS (after allowing for adjustments to reflect patient choice along the admitted part of the admitted pathways will be:

 

• 90 per cent of pathways where patients are admitted for hospital treatment should be completed within 18 weeks: and
• 95 per cent of pathways that do not end in admission should be completed within 18 weeks.

 

The whole NHS is aiming to meet the 18 weeks interim milestones of 85 per cent of admitted patients and 90 per cent of non-admitted patients by March this year.  Based on what the NHS is telling us, we remain cautiously optimistic that the NHS will achieve these milestones.  Data confirming the end March positions will be published during May.

 

For further information on local waiting times, you may wish to contact the health authority directly.  Contact details are available on the NHS in England website at www.nhs.uk.

 

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to the Section Head of the Department’s Freedom of Information Unit at the following address:

 

Freedom of Information Unit

Department of Health

Room 334b

Skipton House

80 London Road

SE1 6LH

 

Email:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xxx.xx

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision.  Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Department.  The ICO can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Stuart Craig

Department of Health

Room 317

79 Whitehall

London SW1A 2NS