Is this how NHS waiting lists work?

[davido140]

My Dad was recently told he needs two new hips. He's been in a bit of a state for a while and now can barely walk with the aid of two sticks, he looks like a man of 85 not 65. Much worse and he'll be in a wheel chair.

Anyway, long story short, consultant says his hip replacement is an "urgent case" now that might not mean the same in the NHS as it would to me..

3 weeks since being submitted for a place on the waiting list he still does not have a date.

Yesterday he was told "I'm sorry the waiting list is full"

Is this how the NHS have been meeting their targets for the last decade for waiting list times/lengths by simply not putting people on the list?

Just curious more than a rant.

Cheers

[The_Doc]

There's one list, and unless your consultant admits the patient to an acute bed as an emergency and does the case in a few days, everybody is *usually* in the same boat.

The Urgent/Soon/Routine choice died quite a few years ago.

Last minute cancellations do happen, and some list masssaging is occasionally possible, but some consultants don't even have access to their own waiting lists. The trusts take this off them and then farm out long-waiters to groups of visiting Norwegians or Latvians, who do a shoddy job and scarper off with suitcases of cash...

oh hang on, that doesn't happen too much any more... Not too much.

[davido140]

Cool,

Thanks for the info!