Health Secretary Warned Over False Waiting Times Data

The UK Statistics Authority has warned Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt over false information he gave over accident and emergency waiting times in England.

On 2 July David Cameron stated that the average wait time for an accident and emergency assessment had fallen from 77 minutes to 30 minutes since the coalition came into power.

A week later, Jeremy Hunt reported the same statistic, but stated that it was a “median wait” as opposed to a “mean” wait.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, stated that Mr Hunt “may wish to take advice on whether he should correct the parliamentary record.”

In response, a government spokesperson stated that it had “simply been a slip of the tongue on Mr Hunt’s part and that the numbers used by him and the prime minister were accurate.” 

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