Waits for NHS treatment are cut but key target is missed

Data from NHS England shows 10,737 people were waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of March. This is down from 29,778 at the end of February.

The figures show there were 85 patients waiting at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust which runs New Cross Hospital. All of them were classed as waiting for reasons other than being clinically complex or through choice.

At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust there were 21 patients waiting with 13 per cent choosing to wait, and 88 per cent classed as waiting for reasons other than being clinically complex or through choice.

There were nine patients waiting at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust with 11 per cent of those choosing to wait, 78 per cent waiting due to due to being complex, and 11 per cent waiting for other reasons.

In this region Walsall Healthcare was best overall with just one patient waiting.

The Government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April of this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.

The region's major trauma sites posted the longest waiting lists with Staffordshire's University Hospitals of North Midlands with 561 patients waiting in the same period.

Of those 17 per cent were choosing to wait, three per cent were complex, two per cent were waiting due to cornea shortages and 77 per cent were waiting due to other reasons.

University Hospitals Birmingham which includes Queen Elizabeth Hospital there were 197 patients waiting in total. At Worcestershire Acute Hospitals which covers Kidderminster and Bewdley there were 310 patients waiting with 17 per cent choosing to wait, four per cent due to being complex and 79 per cent for other reasons.

But the latest data shows the Government target has been missed with 41 per cent of the 10,737 cases falling into the category of people choosing to wait or exceptionally complex cases. This means 59 per cent of the cases are routine waits. Almost half of those waiting are believed to be concentrated in 10 NHS trusts.

In January, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that NHS waiting lists will fall and people would get the care they need more quickly.

However, the figures show that the number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a record high. An estimated 7.3 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of March, up from 7.2m in February. The data also confirmed that a key 62-day cancer target has also been missed.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Cutting waiting lists to ensure people get the care they need more quickly is one of the Government’s five key priorities - the NHS has now cut 18-month waits by more than 91 per cent - a significant reduction from the peak which saw almost 125,000 people waiting for treatment."