An audit of waiting times at a district general hospital sexual health department--how far are we from the 48 hours target?

The Government has stated that by 2008, anyone who wants an appointment at a genitourinary medicine clinic should be able to get one within 48 hours. We have performed an audit of waiting times for appointments in our clinic and compared this to the most recent Health Protection Agency (HPA) audit. Our audit showed that 75% of people were offered an appointment within 48 hours, but only 62% accepted - the rest wanted to be seen later. In contrast, the HPA audit suggests that only 63% of patients were offered an appointment within 48 hours, and 59% were seen within this time frame. Our audit highlights the fact that many people do not want to be seen within 48 hours and call in to question the validity of this as a target for all patients.