All patients in England who need heart surgery are being treated within 12 months for the first time, according to the government.

Ministers said the figures were a significant achievement and reflected their commitment to reducing NHS waits.

However, the figures showed that 1,055,000 people are waiting for hospital treatment - up 1% on last month.

We are not complacent. There is still a long way to go

Health Minister John Hutton

They also revealed that 334 patients have been waiting more than 15 months for operations - three months after a government target to ensure nobody waited this long was supposed to have been met.

But 271 of these patients are waiting for treatment Royal United Hospital in Bath. Managers were recently replaced at the trust after it was found that its waiting list numbers were inaccurate.

Decrease

The number of people waiting more than one year for treatment has fallen to 20,800.

This is down 400 on last month and down 24,300 on the same period last year.

Health Minister John Hutton welcomed the figures and in particular the reduction in heart surgery waiting times.

"The significance of this achievement, which is thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, should not be underestimated.

"Heart disease affects large numbers of people in this country. Early diagnosis and rapid treatment are crucial to stopping the progression of the disease."

He added: "We are not complacent. There is still a long way to go.

"Waiting times are the patient's number one concern. That is why we will continue to make reducing waiting times our number one priority for the NHS."

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "The key to these statistics is the underlying trend - the very bit the government hopes people will overlook.

"The King's Fund has pointed out that as you eliminate waits of over 12 months, the number of patients waiting 6-12 months is likely to increase.

"The Government is making a rod for its own back through its mismanagement of the NHS."

Surgery pledge

Earlier this week, Health Secretary Alan Milburn pledged that any patient waiting more than six months for a heart operation will be given a choice over where they want to be treated.

They can continue to wait to be treated locally, or travel elsewhere in the NHS for the operation.

In some cases they might be offered treatment in a private hospital or abroad, paid for by the taxpayer.

A new central clearing house will be established to seek out spare capacity in the NHS and �100m is to be made available to fund an extra 4,000 operations.