Wigan hospital bosses pledge to treat those in greatest need first as waiting lists reach record levels

The Royal College of Surgeons of England says “a huge, hidden waiting list is building” across the nation under lockdown.

NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks.

But NHS statistics show 1,075 patients listed for elective operations or treatment at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) at the end of November had been waiting for at least 52 weeks.

And that is before this latest wave hit our hospitals over the last few weeks.

This was the highest figure for the month since comparable records began in 2011 – by the end of November the previous year, no patients had faced such lengthy delays.

It was also significantly more than the 763 who had been left waiting for this long in October.

Mary Fleming, Director of Operations, told the Observer: “There has been a need to create capacity to care for our most critically ill patients throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which in turn has led to delays in non-emergency care.

“WWL clinicians are going through waiting lists very carefully and patients will be seen in order of clinical priority. People with the greatest need will be seen first, followed by those who have been waiting the longest. As a Trust we have maintained communications with our patients on this matter – should we need to make any changes to appointments we will continue to speak to patients on a case-by-case basis.”

Across England, the number of people waiting a year or more hit 192,200, the highest figure since April 2008 and up from just 1,400 in November 2019.

Prof Neil Mortensen, president of the RCS, said the figures show the “calamitous impact” of Covid-19 on operation waiting times.

“For thousands of people in this country a corrective operation is the best way to relieve debilitating pain and get them back up on their feet, back to work and enjoying life again,” he said.

“Many of us were complaining about the pain of the lockdown restrictions in November. However, we should remember all those people waiting for an operation who had their physical pain to deal with, on top of the pain of lockdown.”

Prof Mortensen added: “A huge, hidden waiting list is building up under lockdown.

“When we eventually emerge from this crisis, we will need sustained investment to treat all those who have been waiting patiently for treatment.”

At WWL, 27,657 people were waiting to start hospital treatment at the end of November – broadly in line with the end of October.

Across England, 4.46 million people were waiting at the end of the month – the highest number since records began.

This was compared to 4.42 million in November 2019 and 4.44 million in October.

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Despite 2020 being the year of Covid, nearly 20 million people received emergency care in England’s A&E departments, while in November alone as Covid-19 was spreading more rapidly, patients still benefited from 4 million important elective treatments and essential checks on the NHS.”

He said the figures were a stark reminder of the “exceptionally tough challenge” facing the health service.

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