2,500 wait a year to be treated at our hospitals

FIGURE WAS ALMOST ZERO BEFORE VIRUS CRISIS

THE scale of the pandemic’s effect on hospital waiting lists in the area has been revealed.

More than 2,500 people have now been waiting more than a year for elective treatment and operations such as hip and knee surgery – before Covid-19 struck that figure was almost zero.

Councillors in Derby heard about the backlog at Derby and Burton’s hospitals at a meeting this week and were told that it would be “an incredible challenge” to manage the situation.

Urgent care, such as treatment for patients with cancer, remains a priority, the meeting was told.

THOUSANDS of patients are facing a wait of more than a year for treatment at local hospitals due to lockdown.

The cancellation of a huge number of NHS operations and appointments since March has created a giant treatment backlog at the Royal Derby Hospital and Burton’s Queen’s Hospital.

Normally only a few patients would wait more than 12 months for treatment. Today that figure stands at more than 2,500.

And when lockdown restrictions were eased, efforts to reduce the number of people on the waiting list were hampered by the need for social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Since June, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of patients waiting 12 months or more to undergo treatment.

The key affected area for elective surgery is orthopaedics, including hip and knee operations. Cancer patients remain a priority for treatment.

Zara Jones, planning lead for Joined-Up Care Derbyshire, which oversees all NHS services in the city and county, spoke of the problem at a Derby City Council scrutiny committee.

She revealed a chart showing 2,509 people waiting 52 weeks for treatment at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust as of the week ending October 2. In March this figure stood at just 45.

Ms Jones said that around 40 per cent of the people on the waiting list are awaiting trauma and orthopaedics treatments or operations.

And she highlighted that there is also a unidentified need on top of this as parts of the population are understood not to have presented for health care, avoiding NHS services due to Covid-19 concerns.

A further slide Ms Jones showed said: “Waiting lists will not be reduced unless the NHS can work at greater than 100 per cent of activity.

“Whilst social distancing measures are required to be in place our capacity to deliver is constrained.”

During the meeting, Dr Robyn

Dewis, Derby City Council’s public health director, said: “The NHS has been working very hard to get those waiting lists down but in reality there is a lag in those waiting lists from the period in time in which activity was not being taken (during lockdown). On top of that, even managing to get to 90 per cent or 95 per cent activity, you’re still not catching up, there’s still an accumulation of cases and it is going to be an incredible challenge going into winter around how to manage that situation.”

Sharon Martin, chief operating officer at the Derby and Burton hospital 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.”

In July, the Derby and Burton trust said it plans to expand its capacity with new capital projects including a new orthopaedic treatment centre at the London Road Community Hospital in Derby.

This will, it said, help prevent the waiting list from growing any larger and target patients who have been waiting the longest.