Action call as 18,000 waiting for NHS treatment in Shropshire
Almost 18,000 Shropshire patients are currently waiting for health care treatment, according to a new report.
Now county health chiefs are being told to take “urgent” action to reduce by half the number of patients who have been on elective treatment waiting lists for more than a year.
Providers including GPs, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation(RJAH ), and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) have been advised by NHS bosses to take immediate action to address the issue.
The move follows ongoing issues at both trusts with long waiters who had been waiting for more than 52 weeks.
The GP-led Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group is now required to produce a five-pronged action plan.
A new NHS England report states: “The current position (June 2018) shows that for Shropshire patients the local providers are at, or close to, target overall and ahead for non-admitted and that, in terms of performance, the issue lies with the out of county providers.
“The current count of patients waiting is marginally above (0.78 per cent) the March level at 17,847 and shows a slight increase in numbers at both SaTH and RJAH and a decrease at other providers.
“The change in numbers at SaTH and RJAH are a combination of differences in the balance between new cases and completed cases and some movement of activity back to SaTH from other providers as specialities re-open to referrals, for example ophthalmology.”
CCGs in the area have also responded to Care Quality Commission enforcement action taken against SaTH relating to the systems for sepsis patients or those with other deteriorating medical conditions in the emergency departments, and of the environmental safety in Telford’s A&E following an inspection.
In a joint statement, Dr Julian Povey, clinical chairman at Shropshire CCG and Dr Jo Leahy chairman of Telford & Wrekin CCG, said:“We are aware of potential safety issues at the trust and want to reassure you that we take these issues very seriously.”
“We have been and continue to work across the local health system to ensure that services remain safe and the people of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales receive the best possible care.”
Residents are also being reminded that the deadline to have a say over the future of hospital services under the Future Fit proposals is today at midnight. So far 16,000 people sent responses to the public consultation.
Shropshire CCG’s board is due to meet at the University Centre, Guildhall, in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, on Wednesday at 1pm.
