No patients are waiting more than nine months for treatment

A performance report to the board this week shows for the first time in its 11-year history the trust's waiting list is below 10,000.

In June 2004 it stood at 12,188. In June 2005 it was 9,817, a fall of 19%.

The report also notes no patients are waiting more than nine months for treatment and only six patients were waiting more than eight months.

All six of those patients had declined earlier dates.

MRSA infections

The trust runs Cromer and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals.

A trust spokesman said by December this year, no-one should be waiting more than six months for treatment.

The accident and emergency target was achieved again with more than 98% of patients seen, treated, admitted or discharged within four hours.

The report also updates the board on performance relating to MRSA infection. Between April and June the trust had a target level of 14 cases of MRSA but there were only eight cases of MRSA infection.