Nine patients still waiting at least two years for planned treatment
A hospital trust aiming to eliminate two-year treatment waits by the end of this month has now cut the list to single figures – but more than 300 patients are still waiting at least 18 months for their procedure.
University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust, which runs Royal Stoke and Stafford’s County Hospital, failed to meet a national NHS target to eliminate waits of more than 18 months by April.
Last month trust board members were told that the aim was to reach zero waits of 78 weeks (six months) or more by mid-July. The biggest risk related to orthopaedic and spinal patients as these patients often required treatment at Royal Stoke and were unsuitable for operations at county hospital or the independent sector, minutes from the meeting stated.
At the latest board meeting on Wednesday, members were told that at the end of June there were nine patients who had waited at least 104 weeks (two years) and 312 who had waited at least 78 weeks. A report to the meeting said: “The trust remains challenged in the delivery treating all patients waiting over 104 weeks
“At the end of May the validated numbers of patients (waiting at least 104 weeks) was 36, a significant decrease from 53 at the end of April. The trust has continued to achieve the national standard of all eliminating all 104 week waits purely due to capacity, there is considerable work now on the trust’s route to zero for 104 week waiting patients, with challenges around complex pathways, patient choice and fitness for treatment.”
At Wednesday’s meeting board members heard that patients who had waited at least 104 weeks now had dates for their procedures. Deputy chief operating officer Katy Thorpe said: “There are some really complex patients.
“Now we have got it to this point we are heading in the right direction and it is being micromanaged. We have additional locums coming in for certain services.”
Recent industrial action has affected the hospital’s capacity for elective care however, she added. During June’s strikes there was a reduction of around 20%-25%.
“We will be monitoring the numbers closely pre and post-industrial action”, she said. “We are not necessarily booking into those dates to try and manage patients’ expectations better.”
Board chairman David Wakefield said: “I can see things are improving. Dealing with the backlog is a national problem.
“I like the steps you are taking and we would like to support you on your journey to zero. We acknowledge the work you are doing – keep at it.”
