Progress being made as orthopaedic hospital services come back on line, bosses told
Progress is being made to restore services now that staff have returned to Shropshire's orthopaedic hospital, its board of directors has been told.
Waiting lists for planned surgeries and produces have risen at Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry during the pandemic, but its board was told during an online meeting on Thursday) that staff are working hard to make sure patients are seen.
A performance report, which was presented to the board, says 1,551 English and 840 Welsh patients had been waiting over a year for treatment by the end of March.
Jo Banks, managing director for clinical support services, said some of the hospital's staff were redeployed to help Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust earlier this year, when Covid patient numbers were growing, and only returned at the end of March or early April.
Planned routine surgery had to be paused as a result.
Ms Banks said staff took time to rest when they returned, with some taking annual leave and ensuring they were up-to-date on training.
She told the board: "We are still in a restoring phase.
"We absolutely will aim to see as many patients as we possibly can.
"These are people waiting at home for their operations."
She said the future was looking more positive, adding: "People are working hard to get our patients seen."
