SaTH most improved nationally for reducing waiting times for planned care

News from our partners at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust:

The Trust which runs Shropshire’s two acute hospitals is the most improved nationally for reducing waiting times for patients needing planned care – securing £2million in capital funding.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) achieved a 14% improvement in its 18-week referral to treatment performance between April and September this year, making it the most improved during this period. The national standard is that 92% of patients should receive treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

SaTH also cut the proportion of patients waiting over 52 weeks for planned care by 92% and reduced the overall waiting list by 10,000 patients – including a reduction in the number of children waiting for treatment by 40%.

This has been achieved by focusing on improving access to diagnostics to support earlier diagnosis and treatment. The Trust has also maximised the number of operations taking place in theatres, increasing from around 1,200 a month to 1,600 – as well as increased the number of outpatients appointments and boosting productivity.

In recognition of the progress made towards the national target, the Trust has been awarded £2million through NHS England’s Elective Care Capital Incentive Scheme. The scheme recognises organisations which significantly reduce waiting times for planned care.

The Trust is investing the funding in creating additional inpatient and acute assessment capacity at both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. This will improve access to urgent and emergency care and protect elective capacity during the winter months, and in the future.

The funding will also be used to provide new equipment for diagnostics, theatres and outpatients to enable the Trust to make further progress on reducing waiting times.

Mr Joe McCloud, Consultant Surgeon and Divisional Medical Director for Surgery, Anaesthetics, Cancer and Critical Care, said: “This is fantastic news for our patients who are accessing and receiving their care and treatment much quicker, improving not just their outcomes but also their NHS experience.”

Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are incredibly proud of the progress we are making, and of the hard work of our clinical and operational teams who have worked together to drive improvements to reduce the length of time our patients are waiting for treatment.

“While we recognise there is much more for us to do so every patient has access to timely NHS care, we are moving in the right direction. We are determined to build on our progress and are investing in additional urgent and emergency care capacity, and new equipment to further enhance productivity in outpatients, diagnostics and theatres.”

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “NHS staff and leaders at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust are leading the way to a brighter future for the NHS, so I want to recognise and reward their excellent work.

“Our brilliant frontline staff are innovating and finding new ways to run their surgeries and get patients seen faster. This government is backing them with extra investment and modernisation, and waiting lists are falling for the first time in 15 years as a result.

“This is what gives me hope that we can turn the NHS around, get people off waiting lists and back to their lives. There’s a long way to go, but the NHS is on the road to recovery.”