GWENT hospitals are going through a busy surgical winter working toward maximum five-month waiting times for treatments by the end of March.

More than 1,200 patients in the area had been waiting longer than five months for operations, according to figures for the end of November, and several hundreds more must also be treated by the end of March 31, having fallen into this category by then.

The numbers of patients waiting longer than five months fluctuated between 1,200 and 1,370 during June-November as Gwent Healthcare Trust restricted the amount of extra operations it financed because of uncertainty over how much money was available.

But with budgets finally agreed it is pressing ahead with plans to meet the five-month target.

Last year, operations took place on March 31 - a Saturday - to make sure the then maximum eight-month target was met, but health chiefs hope to avoid a similar tight squeeze this time.

The situation is challenging however, a view that also applies to outpatients waiting times.

These are also subject to a five-month maximum by March 31. More than 3,300 patients had waited over five months for a first outpatient appointment at the end of November.

Though this was 1,300 down on the August figure, the numbers of outpatients seen every month must increase significantly to meet the target.

Trust chiefs and surgeons meanwhile already have one eye on the next set of targets on the way to achieving a maximum 26-week wait from the time of referral by a GP to treatment, to be known as the RTT (referral to treatment).

The deadline for this is December 31 2009, but there are interim targets along the way.

The first is September 30 2008, when a 38-week maximum RTT is proposed, followed in March 2009 by a 32-week RTT.

By then the treatment part of this target should be 14 weeks, and outpatients 10 weeks, the remainder taken up by diagnostic testing.