§ 33. Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what priority measures he has set in place to help reduce hospital waiting lists. [514]
§ Mr. HuttonIn managing waiting lists, we expect the National Health Service to treat patients according to their clinical priority and need. We have issued very clear guidance to the NHS on access to secondary care services. The first line of this guidance stated that
clinical priority must be the main determinant of when patients are seen as outpatients or admitted as inpatients".We have repeatedly made it clear that those patients who are in greatest need continue to be treated first.