Longest waiting times cut ahead of national deadline
Patients across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are seeing the longest waiting times for operations and treatments cut – as staff work tirelessly to drive down hospital waiting times.
New NHS performance figures show that Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) oversaw 15,720 elective procedures in May, and had 488 cancer patients start treatment.
It also saw a significant drop in the number of patients waiting more than two years for treatment, from 394 patients in February to 87 today, with 43 of those patients choosing to wait longer.
And no patients are waiting more than two years for treatment at King’s Mill, Newark and Mansfield Community Hospitals. Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs the three sites, has overseen 3,568 elective procedures during May 2022, and 138 patients began treatments for cancer in that period.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals has reduce its two-year waiting lists from 16 patients in February 2022 to zero by the end of June, ahead of a national deadline to eliminate all two-year waits by July 2022.
Staff across both Trusts have worked closely with patients who have waited the longest to fully understand their needs and prioritise those in most urgent need. Regular check-ups were put in place to ensure patients’ conditions did not deteriorate.
Lisa Kelly, Chief Operating Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: “‘I would like to thank our patients for their understanding and pay tribute to our hardworking colleagues whose skill and dedication is continuing to guarantee that patients can access the treatment they need in as timely way as possible.”
Maggie McManus, interim Chief Operating Officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “There is no doubt that the pandemic has had – and continues to have – a severe impact on NHS services, with demand remaining high for those services across the country.
“Behind each and every one of those statistics is a person who is waiting to receive treatment and I would like to thank those patients for their understanding while our hardworking NHS colleagues continue their work to reduce waiting lists.”
In addition to the thousands of patients who had planned treatments across the Trusts’ six hospitals that month, 25,982 patients were treated in the Emergency Departments at QMC and King’s Mill, and a further 2,615 people attended the Urgent Treatment Centre at Newark Hospital.
Maggie McManus added: “If you need urgent medical attention, please visit NHS111 online or call NHS111 before visiting one of our hospitals. Alternatively, please speak to your local pharmacy or check www.nhs.uk for advice.”
“Our NHS is there for you when you need it most,” said Lisa Kelly. “But we need to ask people to consider whether our hospital emergency departments really are the best place for them when it’s anything other than a genuine emergency.”