Patients wait over a year for routine ops at hospital
PATIENTS at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital who require routine surgery are facing one of the longest wait times in England.
The latest NHS data reveals that people booked in for operations could face an average delay of more than 15 months from their GP referral.
Data analysis by medical negligence experts Bond Turner showed the city hospital ranked as the fifth longest for waiting periods across the nation.
The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the QE, says delays were prompted by treating more than 15,000 Covid19 patients, more than any other hospital trust in the country.
One in eight people across Birmingham and Solihull are currently waiting for medical treatment.
The latest research looked at the latest NHS England service reports for common in-patient surgery procedures at 52 of the biggest hospitals in England.
It discovered that on average, nine out of 10 NHS England patients are facing a wait of over a year for general surgery.
The QE had potential average wait times of 67.6 weeks for the common procedures included in the Bond Turner study.
Data was collected from the NHS wait times dashboard, between September 22 and 28, with insight for the study also gathered from the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
The research focused on nine different operations, including waiting times on hip or knee replacement, as well as tonsils and gall bladder removal.
Reports from earlier this year suggested that waiting lists for all NHS services were already at their highest since August 2007, with an estimated 5.45 million waiting for procedures and around 300,000 waiting for over a year.
“It goes without saying that the NHS has been put under overwhelming pressure over the last 18 months in
particular,” said Sara Stanger, one of the heads of Clinical Negligence at Bond Turner.
“The Covid-19 pandemic meant that many non-urgent surgeries were cancelled, and now the waiting list is evergrowing.
“NHS staff are working flat out to reduce the backlog, but it is no surprise that many are now feeling forced to look at alternatives such as private healthcare in order to have their procedure completed sooner.
“Waiting for any medical treatment can be very stressful but waiting nearly two years could also be very dangerous. This delay could lead to other medical issues, some of which may then require urgent attention.
“For example, unstable hips in the older generation can fail and result in significant complications, even fatalities.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust told the Post: “Our staff have been able to prioritise emergency and the most urgent cancer care for our patients while treating more than 15,000 Covid-19 patients, more than any other hospital trust in the country.
“Despite the impact of Covid on waiting lists, we continue to work hard and at pace with our partners across Birmingham and Solihull to increase the number of operations carried out through additional theatres and ward capacity on all hospital sites, and increased recruitment – including the recruitment of 80 overseas nurses.”
Bond Turner said that if patients are currently awaiting non-urgent surgery following a GP referral, they do have a legal right to choose which hospital it takes place at.