A recent investigation by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has revealed that NHS health boards across England are implementing minimum wait times for elective procedures such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery. This approach is being used to manage the demand for services and control costs. Using the Freedom of Information Act, the BMJ obtained data from 35 of the 36 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England. Of these, 17 have introduced minimum waits ranging from 12 to 16 weeks for key procedures. Two ICBs, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and West Yorkshire, have set a minimum wait of 16 weeks for all routine procedures. West Yorkshire explained that this policy allows doctors to prioritize patients who might experience worsening health if they had to wait longer. Shropshire said the 16-week threshold was introduced to ensure fairness, reduce variation in treatment times, and provide timely and equitable access to elective services. Other ICBs have implemented similar minimum waits in specific areas, such as cataract surgery, with some enforcing a 16-week minimum. For example, Birmingham has set a minimum wait of 14 weeks for non-urgent elective care unless there is a clinically verified need for earlier treatment. The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has raised concerns about the potential impact of these policies on patients, suggesting that some may be left in pain due to delayed treatment. General practitioner leaders have also questioned the justification for such long waits. Tim Lane, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, emphasized that while the NHS is under significant financial and capacity pressure, patients who are ready for treatment should not be made to wait unnecessarily. He stressed that treatment access should be based on clinical need, not a patient’s location, and warned that minimum waits could lead to a "postcode lottery" in healthcare and further delay care. Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, noted that long waits for hospital treatment can be frustrating, especially for those living with chronic pain or other symptoms that affect daily life. She also highlighted that extended waits can increase the workload on general practice. She argued that treatment decisions should be based on clinical needs, and that setting minimum waiting times for administrative or financial reasons is difficult to justify. Sally Gainsbury, a senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust, acknowledged that setting minimum waiting times can be a fair way to distribute resources evenly across the population. However, she expressed concerns about the lack of clarity in implementing such policies equitably. An NHS spokesperson stated that while wait policies help in using services, staff, and budgets effectively, all patients are treated based on clinical need. They acknowledged the difficulty of waiting for treatment and emphasized that no organization should set waits that risk exceeding the NHS Constitution’s standard of an 18-week maximum for elective care.