UK hospitals in more hot water over wait list distortion
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
An investigation into waiting list manipulation at UK NHS hospitals has revealed "serious mismanagement" at the Royal United Hospitals, Bath. The medical technology industry has good reason to monitor the government's drive to tackle the problem, which is said to have "skewed the national picture-of real progress". Seen as a key NHS performance indicator, hospital waiting times and numbers carry enormous political weight and are a major force behind moves to increase throughput, notably by investing in diagnostic and therapy facilities and in specialised personnel to operate these.