Main Points This Month Waiting times The number of English residents waiting over one year at the end of December 2002 had fallen by approximately 1,600 (12.9%) since November 2002 to 10,900; and was 20,500 (62.2%) lower than December 2001 when the total was 31,400; At the end of December 2002, a total of 5 English residents have been waiting over 15 months. Waiting lists The total number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England increased by 14,700 (1.4%) between the end of November 2002 and the end of December 2002 and stood at 1,056,600; The total number waiting rose by 6,400 (0.6%) between December 2001 and December 2002; Activity There were an estimated 7.0 million spells in hospital in the general & acute sector in the period April to December 2002/03, an increase of 195,000 on the same period 2001/02; The number of spells in hospital for general and acute elective patients was estimated to be 4.5% higher in the period April to December 2002/03 than in the same period 2001/02. The number of general and acute non-elective (mainly emergency) spells in hospital in the period April to December 2002/03 was estimated to have grown by 0.8% compared with the same period 2001/02; There were estimated to have been 6.0 million first outpatient attendances between April and December 2002/03, an increase of 76,000 (1.3%) over the same period 2001/02; Waiting Times Table 1: Waiting list by time band - December 2001 to December 2002, England (Commissioner based) Month Waiting time (months) (000s) 0 to 5 6 to 8 9 to 11 12 to 14 15 to 17 18 plus All patients 31 December 2001 781.8 140.3 84.1 27.2 4166 9 1037.5 30 September 2002 782.1 156.6 75.7 16.7 14 6 1031.0 31 October 2002 789.9 155.0 72.0 15.5 9 0 1032.4 30 November 2002 792.8 151.2 68.6 12.5 6 0 1025.1 31 December 2002 805.1 148.0 74.4 10.9 5 0 1038.5 Table 2: Proportion of Waiting lists by time band - December 2001 to December 2002, England (Commissioner based) Month Proportion of Total Waiting List Waiting: months 0 to 5 6 to 8 9to11 12 to 14 15 plus Total 31 December 2001 75.4% 13.5% 8.1% 2.6% 0.4% 100% 30 September 2002 75.9% 15.2% 7.3% 1.6% 0.0% 100% 31 October 2002 76.5% 15.0% 7.0% 1.5% 0.0% 100% 30 November 2002 77.3% 14.8% 6.7% 1.2% 0.0% 100% 31 December 2002 77.5% 14.3% 7.2% 1.0% 0.0% 100% *Note: Due to rounding figures for individual time bands may not always equal 100% Table 3: Waiting lists by time band - December 2001 to December 2002, England (hospital based) Month Waiting Time (months) (000s) 0 to 5 6 to 8 9 to 11 12 to 14 15 to 17 18 plus All patients 31 December 2001 791.1 141.8 85.5 27.5 4213 9 1050.2 30 September 2002 794.8 159.3 76.9 17.1 55 6 1048.1 31 October 2002 804.9 157.6 73.0 15.8 64 0 1051.4 30 November 2002 805.5 153.1 70.4 12.9 45 0 1041.9 31 December 2002 819.7 150.1 75.8 11.0 49 0 1056.6 Table 4: Proportion of Waiting lists by time band - December 2001 to December 2002, England (hospital based) Month Proportion of Total Waiting List Waiting: months 0 to 5 6 to 8 9 to11 12 to 14 15 plus Total 31 December 2001 75.3% 13.5% 8.1% 2.6% 0.4% 100% 30 September 2002 75.8% 15.2% 7.3% 1.6% 0.0% 100% 31 October 2002 76.6% 15.0% 6.9% 1.5% 0.0% 100% 30 November 2002 77.3% 14.7% 6.8% 1.2% 0.0% 100% 31 December 2002 77.6% 14.2% 7.2% 1.0% 0.0% 100% *Note: Due to rounding figures for individual time bands may not always equal 100% Waiting List Table 5: Monthly waiting lists - December 2001 to December 2002; England (hospital based) Month ending Number waiting (000s) Change since previous month Number (000s) Per cent 31 December 2001 1050.2 18.9 1.8% 30 September 2002 1048.1 -5.3 -0.5% 31 October 2002 1051.4 3.3 0.3% 30 November 2002 1041.9 -9.5 -0.9% 31 December 2002 1056.6 14.7 1.4% Table 6: Waiting lists - December 2001 to December 2002; England (000s) Month Hospital based Commissioner based* 31 December 2001 1050.2 1037.5 30 September 2002 1048.1 1031.0 31 October 2002 1051.4 1032.4 30 November 2002 1041.9 1025.1 31 December 2002 1056.6 1038.5 * Please see explanatory note about commissioner data for 2002/03 Coronary Revascularisation Table 7: Number of CABG/PTCA- December 2001 to December 2002; England (commissioner based) ENGLAND CABG months 9-11 12 plus PTCA 9-11 12 plus 31 December 2001 1,155 460 156 40 31 March 2002 787 20 98 1 30 June 2002 775 0 74 0 30 September 2002 333 2 66 0 31 December 2002 162 1 49 0 Activity Table 8: Activity provided between April 2002 and December 2002, England (hospital based): Year to date activity 2001/02 April to December 2002/03 % change Hospital spells '000s General & acute: Total 6,821 7,017 2.9% Elective 3,853 4,025 4.5% Non elective 2,968 2,991 0.8% Outpatient first attendances 5,904 5,980 1.3% Statistical Notes 1. Inpatient waiting lists Waiting list information is collected from English Primary Care Trusts on a responsible population basis (see note on next page) and from NHS Trusts on a hospital basis. In interpreting the figures it should be noted that about half of patients (not including live babies) treated in hospitals are emergency cases and do not come from the waiting lists. This publication contains waiting list information on patients who are waiting to be admitted for treatment either as a day case or ordinary admission. It does not include: - patients admitted as emergency cases - outpatients - patients undergoing a planned programme of treatment e.g. a series of admissions for chemotherapy - expectant mothers booked for confinement - patients already in hospital but included on other waiting lists - patients who are temporarily suspended from waiting lists for social reasons or because they are known to be not medically ready for treatment Waiting times begin from the date the clinician decided to admit the patient. Patients subsequently offered a date but unable to attend have their waiting times calculated from the most recent date offered. These are known as self-deferred cases and are included in the total waiting. The tables include an element of estimation and incorporate all returns and amendments received from Primary Care Trusts and NHS Trusts up to 10 February 2003. 3. Hospital and Commissioner based lists There are fundamental differences in coverage between commissioner based and hospital based information. Commissioner based returns exclude all patients living outside England and all privately funded patients waiting for treatment in NHS hospitals. However they do include NHS funded patients, living in England, who are waiting for treatment in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, abroad, and at private hospitals; these patients are not included in the corresponding hospital based returns. Historically there has been a 1% to 3% difference in the overall size of the waiting lists reported for NHS hospital trusts and English residents, the trust-based figure being the larger. The differences are summarised in the diagram below: NHS hospital trusts / NHS commissioners - Patients waiting to be treated by NHS hospital trusts in England, commissioned by English PCTs and GPs Patients from private hospitals and commissions from Scotland, Wales and NI waiting to be treated in English NHS hospital trusts / Patients waiting to be treated in private hospitals, and in NHS hospital trusts in Scotland, Wales and NI, funded by English NHS commissioners Commissioner based returns reflect responsible based populations, which is defined as: Responsible Population: - all those patients resident within the PCT boundary; plus - all patients registered with GPs who are members of the PCT, but are resident in another PCT; minus - All patients resident in the PCT, but registered with a GP who is a member of another PCT 4. June 2002 Commissioner data June 2002/03 (Q1) was the first time that commissioner based data was collected from PCTs. As a result there are some data quality issues. In particular, the total commissioner based waiting list was 1.7% lower than the hospital based list. Although this is within the range of historic differences, when data was collected for the final time from HAs in March 2002 the difference was 1.3%. For April and May this year, when commissioner data was unavailable, we tried to give an indication of numbers of patients waiting over 15 months by identifying Welsh patients counted in the hospital figures. 5. Revisions Department of Health policy is to publish revised figures with subsequent statistical releases unless it is decided that the magnitude of the change merits earlier notification. Additional Information Full details of waiting lists and times for individual health authorities and trusts are available from the address below. Press enquiries contact: Press Office Department of Health Richmond House Telephone: 020 7210 5221 PREPARED BY THE GOVERNMENT STATISTICAL SERVICE