Published: 08/04/2004, Volume II4, No.5900 Page 15
This week, health secretary John Reid reports that the government looks set to meet, with the exception of 20 or 30 people, national targets to bring the maximum waiting time down to nine months.
The achievement - for the service and the government - cannot and must not be downplayed. A maximum 18-month wait in 1999 has now been halved. Not only that, but there are some indications of smoother planning this year: the wails of anguish from the service in the run-up to year end were substantially quieter than the panic around last year's 12-month target.
The government has pledged to create a service 'fair for all and personal to you'. Progress on waiting times reflects some success on the first count. But what of the second? Two stories in this week's HSJ suggest that there is some way to go before the NHS can boast about its ability to offer patients an individualised service, with choice at its heart.
In news (page 3), HSJ reveals that the government has broken its manifesto pledge to abolish outdated Nightingale wards for older people by the end of last month. One quarter of the old-style dormitory wards put on the government's hit-list in 2001 remain in place, offering patients little dignity or privacy.
Meanwhile, the pathetic tale of the 32 hospitals which meet the government's target to offer all patients bedside televisions - but deny them access to an off-switch, so that screens flicker for up to 15 hours a day - is so absurd as to be unbelievable.
Reassurances from the Department of Health on the minimal health risks for patients forced to watch non-stop TV suggest the government has some way to go before it grasps the true meaning of choice. l
No comments yet