Surgeons warn against complacency as waiting list falls

Getty/Akarawut Lohacharoenvanich

The small reduction in the size of England’s waiting list is “heartening” for surgeons – but not a sign that the misery of thousands of patients is about to be relieved, according to their royal college.

The NHS is expected to ensure that patients are no longer waiting for longer than 65 weeks for treatment by April – but this will be “difficult to achieve,” the Royal College of Surgeons of England has said.