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Helen Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce the number of patients in the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority area who have waited over nine months for in-patient treatment. [130925]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 18 September 2003]: All national health service trusts in Cheshire and Merseyside have agreed plans with primary care trusts (PCTs) and the strategic health authority (SHA)7 that deliver the maximum nine month wait target by 31 March 2004.Most NHS trusts are planning to achieve this target earlier than the specified date.The Cheshire and Merseyside SHA and PCTs monitor the waiting time target on a weekly basis. The service improvement managers assist wherever problems are experienced.