PART 9Standing rules: waiting times

Duty to meet the maximum waiting times standards45

1

A relevant body must make arrangements to ensure that persons—

a

for whom the relevant body has responsibility; and

b

who require an elective referral,

commence appropriate treatment in accordance with paragraph (2).

2

The requirement referred to in paragraph (1) is that at the end of each data collection period, appropriate treatment has commenced within the period of eighteen weeks beginning with the start date in not less than—

a

95% of cases where the appropriate treatment is provided during that data collection period without admitting as an in-patient a person receiving that treatment; and

b

90% of cases where a person is admitted as an in-patient in order to receive that treatment during that data collection period.

3

A relevant body must make arrangements to ensure that at the end of each data collection period, not less than 92% of the persons falling with paragraph (4) have been waiting to commence treatment for less than 18 weeks.

4

A person falls within this paragraph if—

a

the relevant body has responsibility for that person;

b

there has been a start date in respect of that person; and

c

the person’s waiting time period, as specified in regulation 46, has not come to an end.

5

Where—

a

a decision has been made to admit a person to hospital for treatment as an in-patient as a result of, and in response to, an elective referral;

b

that person has been offered at least two different reasonable appointment dates for admission to hospital for that treatment but has declined to attend on any of the dates offered,

the period of time described in paragraph (6) may be excluded from the calculation of the period of time for which that person has been waiting to commence appropriate treatment for the purpose of calculating the percentage of persons falling under paragraph (2)(b).

6

The period of time to be excluded for the purposes of the calculation referred to in paragraph (5)—

a

begins with the date of the earliest appointment date that was offered; and

b

ends on the date on which the person is available again for admission to hospital for the treatment required as a result of, and in response to, the elective referral, where that person has notified the health service provider, whether verbally or in writing, of that date.