Dozens of NHS users have waited in excess of three years for hospital care in England, with those in the North East included. At least eight have been on the NHS waiting list for over four years nationally, with one included waiting for more than four-and-a-half years.
Leading surgeons have described the figures as 'shocking' warning that extended waits for care could lead to emotional and physical distress in patients. Many waiting are likely to be in pain and or discomfort due to their conditions, while anxiously awaiting treatment following a GP referral.
Over a quarter of those waiting the longest are awaiting treatment for trauma and orthopaedic care reveals Yorkshire Live, with the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust also falling into that bracket - with spinal surgery being a highly delayed procedure throughout the trust.
Read more: Official Covid rates fell in 98% of North East areas over the week after free testing ended
According to the figures, the Newcastle hospital trust had four patients that waited more than three years and the longest period a patient waited to start treatment after being referred was 159 weeks
NHS leaders said they are doing “all they can” to dig into the backlogs, but efforts have been hampered by pressures on the emergency care system, Covid cases and high rates of staff absences on top of severe workforce shortages. The latest official figures from NHS England show that a total of 23,778 people in England were waiting more than two years to start routine hospital treatment at the end of January - around nine times the 2,608 people who were waiting longer than two years in April 2021.
To find out how much longer patients had been waiting over the two-year mark, PA sent Freedom of Information requests to 125 non-specialist acute hospital trusts in England. Trusts were asked how many patients had been waiting for three years in January, in line with the latest available data from the NHS, how many had been waiting for at least four years, and then the longest period a patient had been waiting for an appointment.
Findings from 69 trusts which responded to the FOI at the time of publication include:
- More than 91 patients had been waiting for at least three years, with at least eight waiting for over four years.
- Twenty of the longest waiters required trauma and orthopaedic surgery - among these patients will be those who needed hip and knee replacements.
- Only eight of the so-called “longest waiters” were waiting for less than 100 weeks.
North East trust waiting times revealed:
COUNTY DURHAM AND DARLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- The number of patients waiting for more than three years (156 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The number of patients waiting for more than four years (208 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The longest period of time in weeks that a patient was waiting to start treatment after being referred: 133
- The department the patient was waiting to be seen: Plastic surgery
GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- The number of patients waiting for more than three years (156 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The number of patients waiting for more than four years (208 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The longest period of time in weeks that a patient was waiting to start treatment after being referred: 74
- The department the patient was waiting to be seen: Urology
THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- The number of patients waiting for more than three years (156 weeks) at the trust: 4
- The number of patients waiting for more than four years (208 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The longest period of time in weeks that a patient was waiting to start treatment after being referred: 159
- The department the patient was waiting to be seen: Spinal surgery
NORTHUMBRIA HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- The number of patients waiting for more than three years (156 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The number of patients waiting for more than four years (208 weeks) at the trust: 0
- The longest period of time in weeks that a patient was waiting to start treatment after being referred: 73
- The department the patient was waiting to be seen: Trauma and orthopaedics
Feryal Clark, Labour’s shadow health minister, said: “We entered the pandemic with record waiting lists thanks to a decade of Tory mismanagement of our NHS. The Tories are now hitting working people with unfair tax rises during a cost-of-living crisis so patients are paying more and getting less from our NHS.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “NHS staff are working flat out to clear the backlogs that have inevitably built up throughout the pandemic with local teams using innovative approaches to reducing waits, such as one-stop shops and Super Saturdays, all while we continue to see busy emergency services and high numbers of hospitalised Covid patients.
"The NHS is expecting a busy Easter weekend for its staff across the country and we continue to urge people to come forward for the care they need."
