A great deal has been learnt throughout the Trust as a result if this report and changes have been put in place to ensure it can never happen again

Ken Cunningham, Chief Executive Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Problems can be traced back to April 1998 when the trust was formed with the merger of two trusts.

It now comprises two acute hospitals, Crawley and East Surrey Hospitals, and three community hospitals. It is the designated major accident centre for Gatwick Airport.

In 1998, the trust bucked all expected trends by announcing that the number of patients awaiting treatment had fallen.

However, within 12 months the list had jumped significantly.

In April 2000, the trust's chief executive left her job having failed to meet financial and waiting list targets.

Amid growing concerns over how the waiting list was managed, her successor asked officials from the NHS South East Regional Office to carry out an investigation into practices at the Trust.

The inquiry reported that in 1998 some 700 patients had been deliberately held back from being put on the waiting list with only urgent patients being put in the queue.

The new chief executive Ken Cunningham, who joined in June 2000, says he is confident today that waiting list totals for the trust are "totally accurate".

'Holiday appointments'

It also found that 300 patients who were due to be transferred to another hospital within the trust also failed to be put on the waiting list.

Key findings

700 patients failed to be put on list 300 patients transferring between the trust removed from list Patients deliberately offered appointments during holidays Patients offered non-existent dates at short notice 1,800 fall in waiting list achieved through illegitimate means

But more worryingly it found that hundreds of patients were being taken off the list unnecessarily.

Its report suggested that hospital staff would contact patients awaiting treatment to find out when they were planning to go on holidays.

Those patients would then be telephoned again and deliberately offered care during that period. Others were offered non-existent appointments at very short notice.

In each case, if patients declined the dates on offer they would be suspended from or taken off the waiting list.

The inquiry concluded that the 1,800 reduction in the waiting list at the trust between 1998 and 1999 had been false.

Members of the investigation team suggested that the entire fall had been achieved through illegitimate means.

The inquiry report did not state who was directly responsible for inappropriately adjusting waiting lists but found that the trust's former chief executive should take responsibility for mismanagement and false reporting of waiting lists.

The trust implemented the inquiry's recommendations and is adamant that the problems of the past will not be repeated.

'Never again'

Mr Cunningham said he welcomed the report's recommendations, and a more transparent system for providing information to the public.

He said he had raised concerns about the Trust's waiting list reports shortly after joining, and had put measures in place to change working practices so staff reported waiting list figures according to national guidelines.

Mr Cunningham added: "I am confident today that our waiting lists today are absolutely accurate.

"In September if last year after a thorough check of our records 10,000 people were waiting for operations at this Trust. Today that number has dropped to 8,000. We are on target to meet the government's pledge of a maximum wait of 15 months by March 2002."

He added: "We are very sorry that this has happened and we have publicly apologised to all patients who were affected.

"A great deal has been learnt throughout the Trust as a result if this report and changes have been put in place to ensure it can never happen again."