Anderson wants waiting lists set by doctors not politicians

Tue, 24 Jan 2012

Health Minister David Anderson MHK

The Health Minister says it's not for him to decide how long patients should be kept waiting following referrals from their GP.

David Anderson has been giving details of his Department's approach towards waiting lists in the House of Keys this morning, following a series of questions from Rushen MHK Laurence Skelly.

Mr Anderson said it's not appropriate to set targets in all areas of medicine but that cancer patients should be seen as a priority where possible.

The Minister also confirmed that his Department is looking to make waiting lists available online in the future, once it has a more accurate way to measure the data.

However, he wants the decision over how long a patient has to wait for a consultation or surgery to be made by the patient's doctor [play clip]