Patients risk being left in “unnecessary pain” as NHS chiefs force hospitals to introduce minimum waiting times for treatment, health experts have warned. As first reported in The Times, the policies include blanket minimum waiting times of 12-16 weeks in some regions. It said commissioners may wish to set “activity planning assumptions”, which can include introducing minimum waiting times. Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Used in this way, minimum waiting times risk distorting clinical priorities and leaving patients in unnecessary pain and anxiety. “There are millions of people waiting for planned treatment, and the Government has made waiting times a key target for the next election.
