It emerged yesterday that a hospital in Sunderland had put thousands of patients in a “queue” rather than a traditional waiting list as they waited — or queued — for follow-up appointments.

This did not breach any rules, because waiting lists are meant for those still awaiting treatment, and the Sunderland patients had been treated and were awaiting follow-up. But the local medical committee of GPs said that it had serious concerns about the system and would back any inquiry into the queue, which has been running since 2000 but which came to light only this week.

Hospital managers say the system was created because of a shortage of consultants in the urology department, which meant that specific appointment dates could not be set.

But Martin Callanan, a Conservative MEP for the North East, said yesterday: “It sounds suspiciously like a way to fiddle figures to me.” A spokeswoman for Sunderland Royal Hospital said: “In normal circumstances, patients are allocated follow-up appointments on a specific time and day when they leave after an outpatient appointment. What the queue does is put them on a list until we know we have a space in clinic.”

He added that no patients had been placed in the queue since the end of last year and that all patients were now being given appointment dates.

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