New NHS figures show huge waiting lists at Bath's RUH

Nationally a record breaking six million people were waiting for treatment at the end of 2021

Campaigners say the government urgently needs to invest more in the health service
Author: James DiamondPublished 11th Feb 2022

New NHS figures show the huge pressure on the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath.

As of the end of December 2021, 30,715 patients referred for treatment at the RUH had not been seen; 36 percent of whom had been waiting more than 18 weeks.

At its worst, for every 100 patients, eight who had been referred for treatment were still waiting after 43 weeks.

The numbers, while shocking, are actually smaller than many other trusts across the country, as the NHS struggles to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

WATCH: Senior Reporter James Diamond has previously spoken to a Bristol GP about pressures on the NHS

Across Sheffield's two trusts for example, there were around 75,000 patients waiting for treatment at the end of 2021, while the Royal Free London NHS Trust had just under 99,000 patients waiting.

Elsewhere in the South West, the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust had more than 53,000 patients waiting, while the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust had more than 31,000 patients waiting.

Overall more than six million patients were waiting to be treated across the UK, a new record.

In a statement sent to us by the RUH, a spokesperson apologised.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on waiting lists nationally, and the RUH is unfortunately no exception to that," they said.

"We welcome the NHS and government elective recovery plan announced this week to improve waiting lists across the country.

"We apologise to anyone who is waiting for care, and we are committed to providing patients with their planned care and treatment as promptly as possible.”

The elective recovery plan, unveiled by the Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday (February 8), aims to see waiting lists start to reduce from March 2024.

He warned however, that the numbers could continue to rise before they begin to fall.

Several key points feature in the plan including:

  • cutting waiting lists to under a year by 2025
  • eliminating waits of over 18 months by April 2023 and over 65 weeks by March 2024
  • restoring diagnostics within six weeks to pre-pandemic levels by 2025
  • creating of list of reservist health workers to "increase capacity"

Labour has said the plan "falls seriously short" of what is needed to improve the NHS.

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