WAITING lists for operations at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are on target to be cut by 1,000 by next Spring.

As health secretary Frank Dobson announced a national cut of 45,000 from April to July, a Victoria hospital spokesman said its list had gone down by 253, to 9,613 in the same period.

Director of planning and information Peter Dewdney said this 2.6 per cent cut meant they were on target for a 1,000 reduction by the end of March next year.

"The list has been reducing by around 100 a month since April," he said, whereas previously it had been rising. "We've achieved this mainly by extra operating sessions in the evenings and at weekends."

The NHS received a budget-boost of £500m nationally to reduce the lists, helping the North West achieve a cut of 4,575.

The aim was to have no-one waiting longer than 18 months, said Mr Dewdney, and the majority waited less than six months. They saw 250,000 outpatients a year and hoped to see even more.

Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden welcomed this achievement by Victoria, which is a regional cardiac centre as well as a local hospital.

"The significant extra resources the Government has allocated to health services in the region since the election are delivering real improvements," he said.

"It is now imperative that local health service bodies work closely together within the framework of the Government's reforms to continue this downward trend and deliver improved health care for all patients."

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