18 Weeks referral to treatment
Since December 2008, no patient referred to a consultant-led hospital service has been allowed to wait longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.
This applies to all Trusts in the NHS, and represents the coming together of the various waiting time targets for the different elements of hospital services. For the first time, in a similar way to our approach to cancer waiting times, the 18 week target will cover the whole patient pathway.
From a patient's point of view, 18 weeks is a fairer and more inclusive target, and from the Trust's point of view, it is a more complete target that should enable us to effectively measure and manage all the timings of the care that we deliver.
It is about the right care, at the right time, of the right quality, without unnecessary delay. As much as being about speed, it is about quality, equality, efficiency and customer service.
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust met the government's 18 week referral to treatment target by the end of March 2008. Read more here|.
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