The report said patients are getting a fairer deal under the new system

Changes to NHS waiting lists have made the system fairer for patients according to the public sector watchdog Audit Scotland.

In a report it said an overhaul of the system two years ago had resulted in most patients waiting less than the 15 week target.

It concluded the new arrangements had improved the way the health service managed waiting lists.

But it criticised the way the NHS communicated with patients.

Auditor General for Scotland Robert Black said: “Waiting times are very important to patients and the new arrangements have improved the way the NHS manages waiting lists.

“The NHS now needs to build on this to make sure that the new arrangements work well for everyone.”

Click the link to read more on NHS waiting lists

New way of managing waiting lists is fairer for patients

Posted: 4 March 2010

The National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland has made big changes in how it manages waiting lists since 2008 and these have made the system fairer for patients. The NHS has done well to implement these complex new arrangements.

An Audit Scotland report, Managing NHS waiting lists – A review of new arrangements, looks at how the NHS has applied the new arrangements, known as New Ways, and how this has affected patients. New Ways aims to manage patients more consistently and bring an end to patients being put on what were sometimes referred to as ‘hidden waiting lists’, where they would lose their guarantee of being treated within a certain period of time.

The report finds that the NHS has broadly achieved these aims, and the changes have resulted in a system that is fairer for patients. But the health service now needs to do more to make the new arrangements work as effectively as possible and to help patients understand New Ways and its implications.

Read more about the Audit Scotland report on waiting lists