'We're years off where we used to be': Shropshire hospital chief lauds recent cancer and surgery improvements

Jo Williams, the chief executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, was eager to speak out after another NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin board member made her point at a meeting.

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Dr Niti Pall, a non-executive director, told Wednesday’s (November 26) board meeting that “diagnostics is falling far behind” when speaking about NHS plans for the future of services.

Jo Williams, who also leads the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, couldn’t wait to respond, telling chair Ian Green OBE that she had been “triggered”.

“As of the end of October the trust is one of the most improved in the country for electives,” she said.

“In terms of the number of patients waiting over 52 weeks we are close to clearing it, which is years off where we used to be.”

She added that in terms of 62-day cancer targets SaTH has had its “best month for 18 months”.

And for making sure patients receive a diagnostic test within six weeks, Mrs Williams said it had been the “best performance for five and a half years".

She told the board that in her response she was “thinking of 8,000 staff who have worked incredibly hard".

But Mrs Williams added that the trust has “still got a long way to go but we are miles away from, where we were".

Dr Pall has been a practicing clinician for 30 years and is currently a global medical director for KPMG.

She said: “It is lovely to hear and really nice to hear that.

“I am just asking us to keep in mind that diagnostics is always an issue from a general practice perspective as well.

“It is not just diagnostics sitting in a hospital.”

She referred to NHS plans to move services from hospitals into the community and added that it is a “really important issue".