PATIENTS in Durham and Darlington are still waiting too long for hospital treatment, according to new figures.
County Durham and Darlington Health Authority is failing to meet the maximum 12-month waiting time target for all inpatient admissions, although it is improving.
It reached its peak in July, with 122 failures to meet this target, but this dropped to 72 in September.
The authority is also missing the target of 11,287 inpatient and outpatient waiting numbers by a margin of 221, which is a worsening of the position in August, when the target was missed by 41.
This situation is being exacerbated by the fact the targets are reducing each month.
According to the figures to be discussed by Darlington Primary Care Group at its meeting tomorrow, the worst performers were South Tees, North Tees and Hartlepool, with 271 and 100 on their waiting lists respectively.
The health authority, primary care groups and health trusts are attempting to find ways to reduce the number of outpatients waiting for treatment
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