End waiting change lives – 18 week target

Over the coming months, patients waiting for treatment will begin to experience a different kind of service from the NHS. The NHS has a target to reduce the time you wait after your GP has referred you to see a consultant (with the exception of certain urgent conditions). By December 2008, the longest any patient will wait for non-emergency treatment will be 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment.

Work is currently taking place across England to reduce waiting times inline with the national End Waiting Change Lives (external link) programme.

Oxfordshire PCT is committed to bringing waiting times down and is working to meet the 18 week target sooner than the national deadline of December 2008. By March 2008, there will be a maximum waiting time for non-emergency consultant-led treatment of 18 weeks from referral to treatment, with the majority of patients being treated much more quickly.

It will mean different ways of working and, because the average wait for most patients will be much less than 18 weeks, the end of waiting in the NHS as people have known it.

End waiting, change lives will make a big difference to patients by giving them faster access to treatment and care. They will benefit from less time spent in hospital for tests and treatment, fewer hospital appointments and reduced anxiety due to earlier diagnosis.

What does 18 weeks mean for patients?

  • Everyone who chooses to be treated within 18 weeks, and for whom it is clinically relevant, will be treated in that timeframe
  • With these much lower waiting times and other changes taking place across the NHS - like patient choice - GPs are likely to only refer patients on for treatment when they are fit and their personal circumstances allow them to be treated
  • High quality care will continue, irrespective of whether it is provided by the NHS or independent sector
  • Diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments will be carried out closer to home as more services are provided in the community and by GPs; increasingly, patients will only need to go to hospital for specialist treatment

Useful links