In a waiting list initiative scheme 566 operations were performed on 447 patients in 104 sessions over a period of six months. In addition the names of 78 other patients were deleted from the waiting list. Special attention was paid to pre-operative education and assessment of patients by information sheets and 'question and answer' history sheets respectively. The maximum waiting time for all general surgical patients was reduced from 2.5 years to less than one year and the total waiting list reduced from 2254 to 1529 patients.