Retreat

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New " tough targets" will be set to tackle record NHS waiting lists in England, Boris Johnson has said.

The PM promised action after plans to tackle the backlog of People waiting for treatment were delayed.

It had been expected to be published on Monday But Mr Johnson said more details would be set out later This Week .

Earlier, Health Secretary Sajid Javid denied reports the Treasury had blocked The Announcement , blaming the Omicron wave for The Delay .

He told Bbc Breakfast the plans were due to be released in early December But the emergence of the more transmissible variant meant the focus shifted to the booster programme.

During a visit to a hospital in Kent, Mr Johnson said: " We're now working with the NHS to set some tough targets so that We Are able to deliver for patients and also for the taxpayer. "

He pointed out more money is being invested and extra staff recruited.

The Prime Minister denied the Treasury had been concerned the targets were not Tough Enough , saying The Department was " Working Together in harmony" with Downing Street.

Pressed on whether he had doubts about the chancellor's loyalty, Mr Johnson said: " Absolutely Not . "

- a rise of nearly 50% since the pandemic started.

More Than 300,000 patients have been waiting More Than a year for treatment after the suspension of routine surgery during certain parts of the pandemic, adding to pressures which were already clear before it began.

Mr Johnson said waiting lists would rise before they started to fall. Ministers are encouraging those who stayed away from the NHS during the pandemic to come forward for treatment.

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How is the NHS in your area coping this winter?

Enter a postcode to find out. Eg ‘M50 2EQ'

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This trust does not currently supply A&E waiting time Figures .

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About the Data Ambulance queues

When patients arrive at hospital by ambulance they should be handed over within 15 Minutes . This Data shows the proportion of ambulance patients who waited 30 Minutes or more, in the week shown. It Comes from daily situation reports which are published weekly during The Winter in England. As this is fast-turnaround Data , the NHS says only minimal validation can be carried out But it is considered fit for Purpose .

Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland do not publish ambulance queue Data .

A&E waits

Patients at A&E should be seen within four hours of arrival. This Data shows the proportion of patients attending A&E who waited longer than four hours to be treated, discharged or admitted.

This Data is published monthly for England and Wales and weekly for Scotland . Northern Ireland publishes its Data quarterly and Winter 2021 is Not Yet available.

Bed waits and occupancy

If a patient at A&E needs to be admitted, The Wait from decision to admit to being given a Bed on A Ward is recorded in England. The Bed waits figure is the proportion of patients admitted via A&E who waited longer than four hours for A Ward Bed .

In Wales, Bed wait Data is not published, so the figure shown is the occupancy level in general and acute beds. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not publish Bed wait or Bed occupancy Data .

NHS trusts and boards

Data for England is show by NHS trust, where The Trust includes at least one hospital with a Type 1 A&E department. Type 1 means a consultant-led 24 hour A&E service with full resuscitation facilities.

When you enter a postcode for a location in England you will be shown a list of NHS trusts in your area. They will not necessarily be in order of your closest hospital as some trusts have More Than one hospital. Data for Wales and Scotland are shown by NHS board.

Comparative Data from two years ago is shown where available. However, where trusts have merged there is no like-for-like comparison to show. Bed occupancy Data in Wales only goes back to April 2020.

Mr Johnson also appeared to confirm the 28-day target for a Cancer diagnosis for the vast majority of People - Three in four - and that by March next year no-one would wait longer than two months to find out if they have Cancer .

That target was originally due to have come in Last Year , But had been delayed because of the pandemic.

Earlier, the government announced a new online service that will allow People needing non-urgent surgery to get information about waiting times.

With Covid in Retreat - at least in terms of serious illness and pressure on the NHS - The Challenge facing the government is How To get The Core services back on track.

Whether it is Cancer or hospital treatments, the pandemic has had a huge impact.

Waiting times have got worse across the board.

For hospital treatments ministers need to find a way to increase Capacity - the NHS is still doing fewer treatments than it was before the pandemic began.

Tough new targets on their own will not be enough without the staff needed to see patients.

Much the same is true for Cancer - But it is further complicated by The Missing cases.

The Number of diagnoses are down by 34,000 since the pandemic started.

Getting Those People to come forward for checks and ensuring they get them quickly When they do is essential.

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Source of news: bbc.com