Labour targets force up average NHS waiting times.

The one thing that I have not criticised this Labour government over is their reduction in NHS waiting times. It turns out that I should have. According to the BBC, figures show that the average waiting time has gone up during the last ten years of this Labour government from 41 to 49 days. Not a lot is it? well it's not if you are waiting for a doctor to look at your eczema, but it is a bloody long time if you have been diagnosed with cancer. It is also quite a lot when you consider how much of our money the government has thrown at the NHS. Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said:

"These figures make us really question whether patients are getting a better deal. "What concerns me is that patients with serious conditions may be waiting longer than they used to be. That is wrong."

Labour have many good intentions but they believe the answer to a problem is to throw money at it. If the problem does not go away they raise taxes and throw more money at it. Instead of asking the doctors how the NHS could be run better, they simply set targets without considering all the possible outcomes. It's all about control. Doctors and the Police both claim that the removal of their discretion is one of the main reasons for the decline in the service they provide (Other public servants working to targets may feel the same). Whilst targets may make the figures look better, it's a professional's discretion that provides the greatest efficiency.