NHS Waiting lists are a key battleground for the fight over health policy in the build-up to the general election. Labour has pledged to enshrine in law, maximum waiting times such as the 18-week wait from GP referral to treatment and the two week wait from GP referral to an appointment with a cancer specialist.

The Labour manifesto also includes a promise to reduce the wait for cancer tests, including results, to just one week. The initial focus will be on providing the tests and results associated with lung, colorectal, breast and ovarian cancers within two weeks by 2013, with the guarantee extended to cover all cancers and reduce to just one week by 2015.

The Conservatives have pledged to abolish “politically-motivated” targets, which Labour claims includes cancer waiting times

NHS waiting lists are still a top concern for the public, despite the introduction of the 18-week maximum wait, suggests a new survey from Aviva.

Aviva’s poll of 2,696 people this month found that 86% believe that NHS waiting lists are too long, with 82% saying that the worst thing about the NHS is the amount of time spent waiting for an appointment with a specialist to find out what is wrong with them.

Nine in ten (93%) people say that their number one priority is knowing what’s wrong with them when they are unwell, and that worrying while they wait for their illness to be diagnosed makes being unwell more stressful (88%).