Hundreds more patients join Wigan's hospital waiting lists

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has set out plans to help the NHS recover from Covid-19, as the number of people on waiting lists reached record levels nationally – but he has said they will continue to rise for another two years.

NHS England figures show 38,140 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) at the end of the year – up from 37,283 the month before.

December’s figure was also 37 per cent more than a year earlier, when there were 27,783 patients on the waiting list.

The median waiting time from referral to treatment was 14 weeks in December, compared to 13 weeks a year earlier.

The median – the middle number in a series – is used to ensure the figures are not skewed by extreme highs or lows.

It meant 60 per cent of patients started treatment within the NHS’s target time of 18 weeks – slightly lower than last month, when 62 per cent of patients began treatment on time.

Of them, 311,000 had been waiting longer than a year – 39 per cent more than in December 2020.

Among those on the waiting list are people needing scans and tests, hip and knee operations, and cataract surgery.

The Government and NHS England have set an ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.

Separate NHS figures show WWL breached its cancer waiting time target in December.

The NHS states 85 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred by a GP should start treatment within 62 days.

But at the trust, just 79 per cent of patients who received cancer treatment in December were seen within two months of an urgent referral.

That was up from 67 per cent in November, and up from 74 per cent the previous December.

Trusts must also tell at least 75 per cent of those urgently referred for a cancer check, whether they have the disease within 28 days.

The figures show WWL hit the target, with 76 per cent of patients being told the outcome on time in December.

Silas Nicholls, chief executive officer of WWL, said: “Firstly, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust would like to thank the public of Wigan for being so understanding and supportive of our staff during what has been a difficult period.

“Alongside our colleagues across Greater Manchester, we are working hard to resume services as quickly as possible. Although services remain busy, the situation has improved to the point that we have resumed some non-urgent surgery and appointments.

“This will help us in tackling the waiting lists that we currently have.

“In addition, there have been a number of investments at the Trust that will enable us to continue to manage the pressures of the pandemic and the increase in demand on our services.

These include:

* Increasing staff in the Emergency Care Department;

* Opening five additional beds on Rainbow Ward;

* £1.6m investment into Wrightington Hospital to improve facilities and increase capacity as the nominated Greater Manchester Hub for orthopaedic surgery; and

* Commissioning of a third CT scanner to support our waiting list recovery.

“We have also introduced new services to further support our patients including:

* Introduction of outpatient care for some of upper limb orthopaedic patients;

* Monitoring at home service;

* Virtual wards.

“Furthermore, December saw the number of patients waiting over 104 weeks reduce for the ninth consecutive month.

“We are confident that given these investments, and the hard work undertaken by our staff, that patients will begin to see a change in our services and waiting lists will begin to reduce.”

Measures announced by the Government to tackle issues within the health service, include prioritising diagnosis and treatment, increasing activity through dedicated surgical hubs, and hiring 15,000 more care workers by the end of March.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the plan was the “biggest catch-up programme in the history of the health service backed by unprecedented funding”.

But health think tank The King’s Fund cast doubt over the plan.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst, said: “The Government has provided additional funding and agreed a new plan with the NHS to improve hospital waits, but the glaring omission remains a strategy to ensure there are enough staff to make shorter waits a reality.”

NHS national medical director Prof Stephen Powis said: “While pressures remain for our staff, with the highest number of life-threatening ambulance callouts and 111 calls for the month of January, NHS staff are committed to bringing down the backlog, and the clear plan published this week will help increase the number of checks, tests and treatment provided for patients.”

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