NHS bosses 'cynically' saving cash

London: The British Health Secretary has accused National Health Service managers of risking lives by making patients wait longer for treatment in a "cynical" bid to save money.

Andrew Lansley spoke out after an official report found that surgery was being deliberately delayed so that patients would either go private or die before they reach the top of hospital waiting lists.

The claims are detailed in a report by the Co-operation and Competition Panel (CCP), an independent watchdog that advises the NHS. It says unfair practices are "endemic" in certain areas of England.

Lansley said the report showed why the NHS needed to be reformed to put its huge budget into the hands of family doctors rather than bureaucrats.

Gaming the system

"Too many primary care trusts have been operating in a cynical environment where they can game the system and in which political targets are used to actually delay treatment," he said.

"When GPs, specialist doctors and nurses are making the decisions, as they will under our plans, they will plan care on the basis of the clinical needs of patients and their right to access the best service, including the least possible waiting time."

Patients in England have a legal right to start their hospital treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

But the CCP study says even though hospitals could see patients sooner, many are saving cash by introducing minimum waits of around 15 weeks for routine operations such as hip replacements and cataracts.