Thousands more patients waiting longer for treatment as
THOUSANDS more Derbyshire patients are waiting far longer for hospital operations and treatment.
The impact of the pandemic on Derbyshire’s health system is far more wide-reaching than the influx in Covid-19 patients in our hospitals and in intensive care.
Due to the spread of the virus, many patients in the county have seen their operations and treatments pushed further and further back with thousands waiting for a year or more.
Treatments and operations have been delayed to free up the workforce for the battle against Covid and to reduce the risk to inpatients.
As of December, compared with December 2019, the number of patients in Derby and Derbyshire waiting more than 18 weeks (around four months) for treatment has nearly tripled, from 13.2 per cent to 36.9 per cent.
This equates to 12,133 additional Derbyshire patients waiting four months or more for treatment and operations. It also means one in three patients are waiting in excess of four months.
The average waiting time for hospital treatment and operations in Derbyshire has increased from 7.7 weeks (around two months) to 12.6 weeks (around three months).
Meanwhile, the reasonable worstcase scenario waiting time (in the 92nd percentile) in Derbyshire has increased from 22 weeks (around six months) to 49.4 weeks – almost a year.
This leaves 5,510 Derbyshire patients waiting nearly a year and in excess of a year for treatment.
Before Covid-19, our hospitals typically had zero or almost no patients waiting a year or more for treatment or operations.
It is expected to take years for the Derbyshire health system to work through the significant backlog in patients, some of whom will have seen their conditions worsen while they have been waiting. In November, local health chiefs suspected it may take six months for waiting lists to “stabilise”, over which time they would aim to “slow the growth”.
The area of hospital care in which there are the most waiting patients is trauma and orthopaedics – including operations such as hip and knee surgeries.
The area of care for which there is the second largest waiting list is ophthalmology, which is the treatment of eye conditions.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for 4,860 patients waiting nearly a year or more (51.7 weeks) for treatment while Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has 1,388 patients waiting nearly a year or more (46.9 weeks) for treatment.
Angie Smithson, executive lead for the Joined Up Care Derbyshire planned care delivery board – and chief executive of the Chesterfield Royal Hospital trust – said: “We fully understand the importance to patients of keeping waiting times to a minimum, and our hospitals have always worked hard to meet national targets on patient waiting times.
“Unfortunately, the current pandemic has placed enormous pressure on the NHS, with staff and theatres being redeployed during the peak waves to support the safe management of Covid patients.
“This has reduced our hospitals’ ability to provide inpatient and day-case surgery to patients and there have been unavoidable delays in many patients’ pathways, particularly during the first wave.
“As a result, patient waiting lists have increased, and despite significant efforts to maintain elective surgery during the latest waves, there have still had to be some cancellations and delays. “Colleagues all across Joined Up Care Derbyshire are doing their best to reduce waiting times for patients, and we just ask for continued patience and understanding. “Throughout the pandemic, staff have conducted
clinical reviews of waiting lists to ensure that patients with an urgent need for treatment are prioritised and this work continues.”
Sharon Martin, chief operating officer at the Derby and Burton Hospitals Trust, said: “As seen at other NHS Trusts nationwide, we have unfortunately seen an increase in the number of patients experiencing long waits for non-urgent procedures, as Covid-19 has required us to reduce numbers of elective cases.
“Specialities that undertake the majority of our routine procedures, for example orthopaedics, have been impacted by this the most.
“This has sadly meant that patients have had to wait longer for more routine surgeries, like hip and knee operations, than we would like them to.
“Covid-19 has affected our services in a number of different ways and has required us to prioritise those patients who need urgent care, such as those undergoing treatment for cancer.
“Our staff are working really hard to restore our services and we are doing everything that we can to ensure our patients receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible.”
Berenice Groves, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital trust said: “Putting operations on hold is never an easy decision as we know it has a huge impact on people’s lives.
“We’d urge anyone to seek advice from their GP or NHS 111 if their condition worsens whilst they are waiting for an operation date; and we will continue to work towards restarting all surgeries as demand for emergency care starts to fall.”