HEALTH bosses who pledged to cut waiting lists for operations in East Lancashire have slashed almost 1,000 patients from the queue in the last six months.

Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust and the East Lancashire Health Authority received more than £1 million from the government earlier this year when it was ordered to take urgent action to stop the number of patients on waiting lists spiralling out of control.

Health secretary Frank Dobson issued the Trust with a stark ultimatum to cut 1,162 people from waiting lists within 12 months.

And the hardline tactic is already beginning to pay off, with a drop from almost 6,700 patients waiting for operations at the end of April to less than 5,900 last month. The cash injection has allowed them to operate on an extra 1,300 patients compared with the same period last year.

The reduction has been at a time when emergency admissions have increased by more than four per cent and referrals to outpatients by more than five per cent.

Chief executive John Thomas said: "It is a credit to all staff that the Trust is on target to meet planned reductions in waiting lists. The progress made so far could not have been achieved without their skill and dedication, together with the additional resources to increase our activity."

The number of patients on waiting lists now stands at 5,812 compared with 6,691 in April. The Trust must reduce the list by a further 400 before March next year to hit their target of 5,402.

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