Hospitals expect return to normal level of surgery by June
THE trust which runs Burton’s Queen’s Hospital expects to return to normal levels for carrying out urgent surgery by the end of June.
University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Royal Derby Hospital, hopes to be back to 80 per cent of its pre-pandemic theatre capacity by the end of April, it has said.
The estimates are based on the trusts’ experience of restoring urgent surgery following the first wave of coronavirus. And both aim to restore less urgent surgery to pre-pandemic levels by the end of September.
The pandemic has forced staff to temporarily stop or delay some services to ensure capacity for treating people with coronavirus and maintain clinically essential services. This has led to an increase in the number of people waiting more than 52 weeks for a range of operations, including hip and knee replacements.
The latest validated figures show just over 68,000 Derbyshire patients on waiting lists for a range of operations, including hip and knee replacements at the end of January 2021, with 8.6 per cent of those waiting over 52 weeks. In February 2020 there was just one patient waiting over 52 weeks.
All patients have been kept under constant review to ensure that the hospitals treating patients whose condition has deteriorated due to the longer waits, said a spokesman. Gavin Boyle, chief executive at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, said: “We are absolutely committed to doing the right thing by our patients and are working closely with our NHS system partners across the region to ensure that all of our patients receive the treatment that they need as quickly as possible. “Going to the right place for treatment has never been more important. Where patients have serious or life threatening injuries or illness then they are urged to continue to call 999 or visit the emergency department, but patients who have less serious conditions are being asked to visit NHS 111 online or call NHS 111 for advice on the best place to go for care.
“This will mean emergency departments are able to treat the sickest patients more quickly and safely, as well as meaning that less serious patients will get faster treatment in other services. NHS 111 can book appointment slots for patients at urgent treatment centres (formerly known in Derbyshire as minor injury units or urgent care centres) and emergency departments. Visiting NHS 111 online or calling NHS 111 in advance of seeking treatment for urgent or emergency care, unless it is for a life threatening condition, is really important.”