Tens of thousands wait for routine treatment

Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care in December, figures show.

NHS England figures show 21,312 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust at the end of December - down from 21,792 in November, but an increase on 20,530 in December 2022.

Of these, 393 (two per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referrral at an NHS Trust to treatment at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care was 15 weeks at the end of December - the same as in November.

Nationally 7.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of December - slightly down from 7.61 million in November and the third consecutive fall.

Separate figures show 1.6 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in December - the same as in November.

At Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care, 4,367 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 1,123 (26 per cent) had been waiting for at least 6 weeks.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of the Government’s top five priorities and, despite winter pressures and the impact of industrial action, overall NHS waiting lists have decreased for the third month in a row.”

15 February 2024, Buxton Advertiser