Shropshire hospitals trust doing well on GP referrals
The trust which runs Shropshire’s two main hospitals is among the best in the country for making sure patients wait no longer than 18 weeks between seeing their GP and having treatment at hospital.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has hit the hit national 92 per cent referral to treatment (RTT) for 12 of the past 13 months, and is on course to do so again this month.
In September, 92.68 per cent of SaTH’s patients received planned operations or planned care within 18 weeks of being referred to hospital – above the 92 per cent target and the national average of 87.2 per cent.
SaTH is ranked 21 out of 126 hospital trusts in the UK for ensuring patients have planned operations and care within 18 weeks of referral – putting it well inside the top 20 per cent.
Nigel Lee, chief operating officer, said: “Tackling this issue has been one of our top priorities and continuing to hit this milestone is great for our patients and marks a fantastic achievement for our staff.
“We are very proud of the good standards of care we continue to provide.”
The 92 per cent RTT target is one of the government’s key access targets and a patient right within the NHS constitution.
