NHS operation waiting lists have fallen in Leigh and Wigan.
Health chiefs have revealed that between October and November 2000 waiting lists for operations were down by 222 people.
Within one month total waiting figures were slashed from 6,218 to 5,994.
Local figures are in line with a reduced waiting list for NHS operations across the North West.
In the region figures fell by more than one pc within the same time scale.
Since November 1999 the waiting list has fallen in the North West from 170, 182 to 161,200.
The latest figures reveal the government has exceeded its NHS waiting list target for the ninth month in a row. Health minister John Denham said: "We made a promise on NHS waiting lists which has been met and exceeded for nine months.
"We know that every winter the NHS rightly concentrates on treating the peak in demand from emergency patients -- so we expect a rise in the waiting list in the short term.
"But the vital combination of big new investment and modern working means the NHS is now in a position to win the war on waiting."
Under the NHS plan the maximum wait for an NHS operation is set to fall to six months, and the maximum wait for an outpatient appointment is expected to fall to three months by 2005.
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