Private hospital used for surgery to reduce record backlogs at Shropshire hospitals
A private hospital is performing 25 surgeries a week on behalf of Shropshire's major hospitals in a bid to clear record backlogs caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Bosses at the trust which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford say large numbers of beds have been taken up to care for coronavirus patients, leading to a 'significant' reduction in planned operations.
In a new report to the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's board of directors, chief executive Louise Barnett says waiting lists have risen, but capacity for patients with urgent and life-threatening conditions is being protected.
Nuffield Hospital in Shrewsbury is being used for some scheduled surgeries, while there is also capacity for cancer and urgent surgery at RSH.
Latest NHS figures show the number of beds occupied by Covid-19 patients at the county's two main hospitals reached a peak of 165 on January 29 – since then it has fallen slightly.
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In December, when there were fewer coronavirus patients, the number of people having to wait more than a year to start treatment at the trust stood at 1,932, according to the report.
It says, historically, the trust has had no 52-week breaches but "since elective work was reduced at the start of the pandemic, the number has increased significantly".
Issues have been around insufficient capacity, although some patients are also choosing to wait.
In the performance report, chief operating officer Nigel Lee adds: "Actions taken during December to meet the needs of our population included use of the day case unit at PRH for non-elective care to create additional capacity on the site through a number of ward moves.
"This resulted in a reduction in capacity for elective patients and a decision was taken to protect elective capacity for cancer and urgent surgery on the RSH site. "Following national negotiations the contract for elective surgery at the Nuffield Hospital was extended until the end of March 2021, creating capacity for approximately 25 surgical procedures per week."
He said at the end of last year, capacity was increased for non-elective care through the opening of the same day emergency admissions unit at RSH and the patient admissions unit at PRH.
The latest NHS figures show 459 patients have died at SaTH after contracting coronavirus.
