PATIENTS who need surgery in North Yorkshire are being spared long waits for their operations, new figures suggest.

Statistics show that only 1.4 per cent of patients who need operations in the region are waiting more than 12 months.

The figures place North Yorkshire among the top performing health authorities in the country - 19th overall.

And they also reveal the region is bucking the national trend, while patients in the south of England are suffering the most.

In the country as a whole, the number of patients forced to wait more than a year has risen in more than half of England's health authorities since Labour came to Government in 1997.

The statistics were released in a Commons written answer to shadow health secretary Liam Fox.

Commenting on the overall situation, Dr Fox said: "The Government was warned that its handling of this would lead to widespread home closures and bed losses. That is exactly what has happened."

Those health authorities with the worst records blamed shortages of care home and hospital beds for their predicaments.

But North Yorkshire, which has a significant bed-blocking problem and a growing elderly population, was still able to perform well.

Updated: 09:00 Thursday, December 27, 2001