Shropshire hospital trust nursing boss hails efforts to tackle waiting lists
Read the latest Shropshire Star column from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's nursing chief Paula Gardner.
Our Trust is always looking at ways to improve the experience of our patients and reduce the times they are waiting for their planned operations, so it was great to see surgeons carrying out two high intensity theatre lists in one day.
Twenty patients had their routine day case operations as part of the all-day lists – known as HIT Lists – which were carried out in parallel at Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.
The lists are part of plans by the Trust to offer high quality surgical care for patients enabling them to have their planned operation much quicker.
It is the first time the Trust has carried out two simultaneous HIT lists in one day.
Thank you to the teams who meticulously planned the HIT lists in advance as they take a lot of organisation and it was so good to hear that one of the first patients on the list describe it as a really slick and efficient process.
The HIT lists were led by Mr Saurav Chakravartty, Consultant Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon, and Mr Adam Farquharson, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon.
The procedures undertaken were routine, low complexity – gall bladders, hernias and colorectal operations – and were carried out in the Elective Surgical Hub at PRH.
Patients referred by Primary Care to our Trust with a suspicious skin lesion are also now receiving quicker assessments and outcomes thanks to the successful rollout of the Teledermatology pathway.
Under the pathway, patients attend either the Community Diagnostic Centre in Telford or the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital just days after referral.
Specialist Medical Photographers capture high-quality clinical images of the lesion, which are then reviewed remotely by the Dermatology team. This enables rapid triage and ensures patients receive timely next-step decisions.
More than 40 per cent of patients are now safely discharged back to their GP following a Teledermatology review, avoiding unnecessary hospital appointments and easing pressure on dermatology clinics.
Patients requiring further investigation are fast-tracked to face-to-face dermatology appointments and any additional tests.
In November 2025, over 98 per cent of patients on the Teledermatology pathway were informed whether or not they had cancer within 28 days of referral, significantly exceeding the national 80 per cent Faster Diagnosis Standard.
This pathway is helping us diagnose or rule out skin cancer earlier, faster and more effectively than ever before.
