GWH waiting list doubles in a decade
The hospital says the pandemic, and increased pressure on NHS services have resulted in higher demand for care
The number of people on waiting lists at Great Western Hospital has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
Data from the NHS shows there were 31,698 people on the waiting list at the hospital in May 2022.
That’s an increase of 149 per cent over the 12,725 waiting for treatment in May 2012.
It’s a 50 per cent increase on the 19,964 on the waiting lists in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for South Swindon, Heidi Alexander, said: “Waiting lists in Swindon are soaring, and that means – at best – patients are left in pain and in fear for far longer than they should be, and sadly it also means that more and more people are dying whilst waiting for care.
“We know how hard staff at the Great Western Hospital and the trust have worked over the last few years, and the amazing job they have done. Labour will ensure that our health service has the staff, equipment and modern technology to provide the care we need.”
A spokesperson for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Covid-19 pandemic, and other increased pressure upon the NHS, has resulted in higher demand for urgent and emergency care services and longer waiting lists than have ever been experienced before.
“Despite this, we are working hard to reduce waiting times for treatment, with 273 fewer people waiting over 18 months than this time last year.”
The hospital has already met one target in the national recovery plan – having nobody wait more than two years, and the next target is nobody waiting longer than 18 months,
The spokesman added: “We currently have the lowest number of patients waiting over 18 months across all trusts in the South West. We are also running services for longer hours so we can offer more appointments, and are working with partner organisations to get patients the right care in the right place.
Brian Ford, the Conservative cabinet member for adults and health at Swindon Borough Council said: “National government has put in a huge amount of support and money to the NHS and is training thousands of new doctors and nurses. The total government support in response to COVID-19 alone stands at over £34 billion. This is additional to the historic long-term settlement for the NHS, which will see funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023 – 2024.
“Swindon Borough Council has a very good record for assisting the NHS, especially in achieving timely discharge of patients from hospital. The local NHS providers, including our beloved GWH have been phenomenal as they have faced one of the biggest challenges in the history of the NHS.
“The government has been clear that the NHS will get what it needs to recover and deliver quality care and we will do whatever we can to support our local partners in doing this”.