THE issue of medical waiting lists was raised again in the House of Keys this morning (Tuesday).

Rushen MHK Laurence Skelly asked Health Minister David Anderson MHK "when (would) the lists be reduced to an acceptable level, what targets he has set, how the department will manage the lists in future and whether they will be made public with regular updates".

He also wanted to know how long it will take from GP referral to treatment.

Mr Anderson pointed out not all waiting lists were exessive or lengthy.

He told the Keys the department would be publishing waiting list data on a regular basis "once we are happy that the data is completely accurate" and said the time from GP referral to treatment will vary. He added the issue should be clinically and not politically driven.

Douglas South MHK Kate Beecroft, of the Liberal Vannin Party, asked whether people were contacted a day before scheduled surgery to remind them of it to ensure time was not lost in the theatre through cancellations.

Mr Anderson said there doesn't appear to be a lot of evidence to show theatre time is being lost, but he said the department is looking at areas such as texting people to remind them about their surgery.

Mr Skelly also wanted to know whether consultants' pay was performance related.

Mr Anderson said it was not performance related but consultants had to deliver so many hours to the NHS.

In response to another question by Mr Skelly about the social and economic impact of waiting lists, Mr Anderson said resources are finate and the department has to balance the resources against the demand.

He said the department is aware it is making significant process in some areas and struggling in others and said it was looking at triage systems.