Patients face shortest wait at Royal Free

9:32am Monday 2nd June 2008

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Out-patients at The Royal Free Hospital are being treated faster than at any other London health trust, according to new figures.

The Department of Health statistics show that more than 98 per cent of patients at the hospital in Pond Street, Hamsptead, are being treated within 18 weeks of being referred.

In addition, 90 per cent of patients requiring admission to the hospital are completing their treatment within 18 weeks.

The results, published on May 29, put the Royal Free in the top ten per cent of trusts in England for out-patient referral to treatment waiting times and in the top third of trusts for patients needing admission.

All hospitals in England have been set a target by the NHS to ensure no patient waits more than 18 weeks from GP referral to the start of treatment by December this year.

Andrew Way, chief executive of the Royal Free, said: "This is a remarkable achievement and I would like to thank all staff for their hard work over the past three years.

"This level of performance has been built on successfully redesigning patient pathways, removing in-built delays and inefficiencies, providing clinically effective and timely care for patients and ensuring more efficient use of resources.

"Most patients referred to the Royal Free now wait less than three weeks for a first out-patient appointment and 99 per cent get the tests they need within six weeks, and these waits will become even shorter. This is fantastic news for patients and their GPs."