11 June 2004

Patients Left Waiting For Appointments

Michael Howard, Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe, has intervened in the case of Mrs Muriel Lilley of Dumpton, Ramsgate who has been told by East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust that the current wait time for an appointment ‘to see a consultant in cardiology … is approximately 17 weeks’. Mr Howard has written to the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt. Hon. Dr John Reid MP to express his concern at the length of time Mrs Lilley is being kept waiting.

Mr Howard has also written to East Kent Hospitals Trust Chief Executive, David Astley, requesting figures for how many patients like Mrs Lilley are on the waiting list, how long these patients have been waiting and how many have had appointments cancelled and rescheduled.

Mrs Lilley’s experience comes after her late husband had been made to wait four years for a heart operation. This included eight months at the Middlesex Hospital before being transferred to St Barts Hospital where Mr Lilley was informed that he would have to start again on their list as previous waiting time did not count. Mrs Lilley commented: “I get fed up with Tony Blair and the Labour Party telling us lies about how good the health service is getting. I am 74 years old and have never known it be in such a bad state.”

Mr Howard said:

“Muriel Lilley’s case is all too common. Her experience, and that of many others in East Kent, does not accord with the Health Secretary’s claims that we have a patient focused National Health Service. I will continue to press for local residents to receive the levels of treatment and care that they deserve.”