Get tough scheme tackles NI waiting list
04/07/2005 - 11:34:39The British government has announced a radical plan to cut hospital waiting lists in the North by threatening to withhold funding from the health authorities.
Under the plans, the North's health trusts must treat patients within 12 months or some of their funding will be withdrawn to pay for that treatment elsewhere.
The move is being introduced because the North has the worst waiting times for hospital treatment in the UK.
Recent statistics showed 4,000 people were waiting for more than 12 months for treatment, 800 of whom had been waiting more than 18 months.
