BY this time next year, the Government wants to introduce a maximum 18-week wait between a GP making a referral to a hospital and the relevant treatment taking place.

It is a laudable ambition by a Government which has made crucial inroads into NHS waiting lists, particularly in priority areas such as coronary care.

But the blanket 18-week target for December next year can only be treated with respect if it is being genuinely and transparently achieved by hospitals across the country.

According to the British Medical Association, some of the more popular hospitals are refusing to accept referrals because they know it will push them over the 18-week limit.

The result is that there are patients out there who do not figure in official waiting lists. In other words, the figures are being massaged to meet Government targets in defiance of patient choice and need.

Disraeli's famous remark that there are "lies, damned lies and statistics" has never resonated as loudly as it does in the 21st Century.

Official statistics are regurgitated, spun and buried, depending on how well they reflect on public sector organisations.

And the sad truth is that part of the reason for such poor engagement in modern politics is that people no longer believe the statistics which are pumped out in support of policies.

They have become as discredited as a Blue Peter phone-in.