Patients in south-east England are waiting longer for operations than those in the North, a new study reveals.

The average wait between seeing a GP and having an operation in the South East is 217 days, compared with 180 days in Trent and 182 days in Yorkshire.

The biggest north-south divide was in ear, nose, and throat surgery, where the average wait was seven weeks longer than for those living in the Trent region.

The longest waits in the South East were for trauma and orthopaedic surgery, where the average wait was almost nine months.

There was also a rise of 1.6 days in delays in the South East compared with the same time last year. In the same period, delays fell by 8.7 days in Trent and the North West.

The research was conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a thinktank which carried out the study based on figures from the first half of the year.

The Department of Health admitted hospital waiting times were much longer in the South East but insisted the research was "riddled with inaccuracies" and that staff levels in the region had improved.

A spokesman said: "These figures are entirely guesswork, speculative and based on unsound mathematics designed to promote the private healthcare system.

"For example, they assume every patient who sees a GP and is referred to hospital has an operation. In fact less than half do.

"Suggesting that the South East is worst hit for waiting times is nothing new. We publish our waiting list statistics every month, region by region. They confirm this trend which is why we target investment to those places which need it most."

The new study prompted a quick response from West Sussex Health Authority which pointed out it had developed an action plan to tackle its surgery backlog.

At present there are 18,892 people waiting for hospital treatment in West Sussex, 1,758 of whom have been waiting for more than 12 months. The number of outpatients waiting more than 13 weeks for treatment has risen to 5,913.

A spokesman for the health authority said: "We do have a problem in offering patients the short waiting times we would all like to see. West Sussex does have long waiting times and waiting lists, particularly for orthopaedic operations."

She said the reason for the backlog was high demand for treatment in West Sussex, which was one of the healthiest places in the country with a high proportion of elderly residents.