News of a new blitz on hospital waiting lists in Bradford should give encouragement to the district's long-suffering patients, hundreds of whom have had to wait more than 12 months for treatment.

The appointment of a special "waiting list buster" plus the injection of a further £3.1 million over the next six months should, in theory, go a long way towards meeting the target of 5,050 extra operations and procedures. The hope is that at the end of that period there will no longer be anyone who has been waiting for more than a year, compared with 1,015 in that unhappy situation at Christmas.

The figure of 569 on the waiting list for more than a year recorded at the end of August was a clear improvement on that. But there is still a long way to go. It is a tall order that trouble-shooter Lesley Hill faces, with winter coming on and all its attendant problems.

Last year we were blessed with a mild winter. There is no guarantee that this year's will be the same. There is always a chance that, if the weather is severe, resources could have to be diverted and waiting lists might not shrink as speedily as hoped.

But the appointment of Mrs Hill and the allocation of £3.1 million is a welcome demonstration of the district health chiefs' determination to see targets met. We wish all concerned well in their efforts but would add just this thought: that to someone with a health problem awaiting surgery, 12 months - and even six months - can seem a long, long time.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.