Patients face two-year wait for treatment

MORE than 40 people in Cornwall have had to wait more than two years for hospital treatment while another 1,400 have had to wait more than a year.

Details of long waiting lists in Cornwall were revealed at a meeting of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) board.

Chief operating officer Susan Bracefield said there were currently 46 people in Cornwall who had been waiting for more than 104 weeks for treatment. She said: “It is still very troubling that we have that number of people in Cornwall who have been waiting for two years.”

She explained patients were assessed and prioritised on the basis of the “harm they are experiencing” and most of those with the longest waits were orthopaedic patients in need of a joint replacement.

She acknowledged their quality of life would be affected – but said those with more urgent needs had to be given priority.

The board heard that there are currently 1,408 people who have been waiting for more than 52 weeks for treatment.

Ms Bracefield said: “That is an eyewatering number but when looking at other trusts, I know there is a trust, not far from here, with 3,000 people with a 52-week wait.”

The board heard that RCHT is working with other partners in the health system including the private Duchy Hospital to try and help clear the backlog.

In October there were 19 patients who had been waiting more than two years for treatment but that had risen to 46 in January. In the same period the number waiting more than a year went up from 1,131 to 1,408.

Nationally, figures show that there are record numbers of people waiting for non-urgent treatment and procedures.

Last month it was reported that in December there were 6.1 million people in England waiting for an operation - the highest number since records began in 2007.

At the RCHT more than 200 people are currently stuck in hospital in Cornwall – despite being fit to leave. They are taking up the equivalent of more than seven hospital wards.

The majority need social care if they are to leave hospital, which is currently unavailable.