Diagnostics waiting times & activity data, month ending 31 January 2012, and quarterly census for quarter ending 31 December 2011
Monthly data published today gives the waiting times for 15 key diagnostic tests carried out in the NHS
The following statistics were released today by the Department of Health:
Diagnostics waiting times & activity data, month ending 31 January 2012, and quarterly census for quarter ending 31 December 2011
The More information, including a diagnostic data Q&A, is available on the DH website.
Main findings this month
• The number of patients, for whom English commissioners are responsible, waiting 6 weeks or more for any one of the 15 key diagnostics tests at the end of January 2012 was 9,000, an increase of 1,000 from December 2011, but a decrease of 2,400 from January 2011.
• Of the patients waiting at the end of January 2012, 98.5% had been waiting under 6 weeks, compared to 98.6% in December 2011, and 97.8% in January 2011.
• The quarterly census of all tests, carried out at the end of December 2011, indicates there are an additional 6,700 waiters of 6 weeks or more in tests not captured in the 15 included in the monthly return. This is a decrease of 2,000 6 week waits since the September 2011 census
• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust did not submit data for either publication.
The diagnostic data is available via the Department of Health website.