More wait over a year for routine NHS treatment
CANCER CHARITY’S CONCERN AS FEWER SEEK ASSISTANCE
HUNDREDS more patients are waiting more than a year for routine treatment at hospitals in Burton and Derby as the NHS deals with the Covid pandemic, figures show.
It comes as a leading cancer charity expressed concern that the number of people accessing help for the disease is still down on pre-pandemic levels.
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust said due to Covid it had had to prioritise urgent care for patients at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital and Royal Derby Hospital. But it added that staff were working hard to restore its services.
At the end of August, 1,667 people had been waiting over a year for routine treatment at the Derby and Burton trust, up from 1,011 the month before, and none in n August 2019.
The target is for 92 per cent of patients s on the list to start their treatment within 18 weeks of a referral. At the trust, the number waiting longer than that fell from 34,785 in July to o 31,837 in August.
This meant the percentage waiting less than 18 weeks in August was 41.9 per cent compared to 36.6 per cent in July. However, the average wait went up from 22.2 weeks to 24.6 weeks.
Across England as a whole, 111,026 people had been waiting over a year for treatment at the end of August, up from 83,203 the month before, and 1,613 in February.
At the Derby and Burton trust, the number of people being urgently referred by their GP with cancer symptoms went from 2,413 in July to 2,447 in August. However, it is down compared to 2,686 referrals in August last year.
Among people who had been urgently referred, 153 started treatment in August, down from 180 in July, while for those who had not been urgently referred, the number was down from 337 to 285. Those figures also represent a drop compared to August 2019, from 195 and 353 respectively.
Across England, the number of people being urgently referred by their GP with cancer symptoms dropped by nearly 10,000 in a month - from 179,503 in July to 169,660 in August.
It is also down compared to 200,317 referrals in August last year.
Sara Bainbridge, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Disruption to cancer diagnosis and treatment is having a traumatic impact on cancer patients’ lives.
“Today’s data shows that, six months from the start of the pandemic, there were still thousands fewer people being tested or treated for cancer than the same time last year, meaning that the backlog of patients continues to grow. The implications of this are extremely worrying. It is critical the Government urgently puts plans and resources in place to increase capacity and protect the NHS NH from further disruption, as we stare down the b barrel of a second wav wave.”
The British Medical Association A (BMA) is calling for a comprehensive plan, backed by appropriate a funding, not just across a secondary, but bu for primary and community com care to reverse the current trends in care.
Sh Sharon Martin, chief operating officer at the Derby and Burton trust, said: “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.
“We are currently receiving less cancer referrals from GPs than normal but do expect that numbers will soon begin to increase to at least the levels displayed before the pandemic.
“As seen at other NHS trusts, 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.
“Our staff are working really hard to restore our services and we are doing everything that we can to ensure these patients receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible.”
It is critical the Government urgently puts plans in place to increase capacity and protect the NHS. Sara Bainbridge
PLANS for a new sports complex in a Derbyshire village are set for approval.
The application, submitted by Amber Valley Borough Council, would see a sports pavilion, changing rooms and community hall at the Charles Hill Sports Ground, in Flamstead Avenue, Loscoe.
It will be decided by the authority’s own planning committee at a meeting on Monday, October 12, with council officers recommending approval.
Due to budget constraints, the council is aiming to build the project in two phases, with the main structure being built first, followed by the changing rooms when more funding is available.
In response to the planning application, Sports England has said there are concerns from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about the changing rooms being deferred until a later phase of the project.
The ECB says it would expect the changing rooms to be built first within the main building and also has concerns about the size of the proposed building meeting set standards.
Meanwhile, the Coal Authority found intact coal seams on the site and says that “due consideration should be afforded to the risk from mine gas”.
The site sits within the green belt and council officers say applications for “essential facilities for outdoor sport and outdoor recreation” on this protected land are appropriate.
Council officers, recommending approval, say: “As the proposal is for a new sports pavilion to serve the surrounding recreation ground and community, which is also the replacement of a former pavilion building on the site demolished a few years ago, the proposed development is considered to be appropriate.
“The highway authority have raised no objection to the proposal, which will result in the reduction of parking spaces from 160 to 152 with a loss of eight overall but will include four disabled parking spaces.”
Councillors have been chasing plans for a new facility at Charles Hill for nearly a decade.
The cost of the long-awaited new centre is now a closely guarded secret but in 2011 was £2 million.
If approved, the single-storey scheme would include a large community room which can be subdivided and rented, a kitchen and servery and a second smaller kitchen overlooking the car park.
It would also include storage for sports equipment, two team changing rooms designed to FA standards for youth football with direct access onto the pitch, two changing rooms for officials, a small office area, toilets for visitors and separate toilets for what are described as “sports users”.
The total ground-floor area of the proposed facility is 431 square metres.