Colchester Hospital and ESNEFT waiting times are soaring

NHS England numbers show 80,402 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust at the end of January.

It represents a concerning increase from the 65,165 patients waiting at the trust which runs hospitals in Colchester, Harwich, Clacton and Ipswich in January last year.

The trust’s deputy chief executive Neill Moloney said it has seen “unprecedented pressures” on services during winter.

Under siege - Colchester Hospital (Image: Newsquest)

The problem is set to worsen as members of the British Medical Association strike for 72 hours from today.

Junior doctors have been instructed not to begin any shift due to start after 6.59am today or before 6.59am on Thursday.

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The figures reveal almost 1,000 people joined the waiting list for procedures between December 2022 and January.

Of the 80,402 now in limbo, five per cent have been waiting for longer than a year, fewer than the national figure of 5.3 per cent.

Chief - Neill Moloney (Image: ESNEFT)

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust was 14 weeks at the end of January.

Mr Moloney said: “We are committed to seeing all of our patients as quickly as possible and our teams have been working extremely hard through some challenging circumstances.

“To reduce the current backlog we have increased our capacity and have been running additional clinics and prioritising patients based on their clinical need.

Long wait - the Covid pandemic lengthened delays for patients (Image: Newsquest)

“Our numbers of patients waiting has grown by 44 per cent since February 2020 compared to 63.1 per cent nationally.

“The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted waiting times and we have seen unprecedented pressures on our services during the winter period, which has also affected our ability to carry out elective care.

“During the last 12 months to January 2023, we have carried out 177,543 elective procedures, but we recognise the demand is still incredibly high and we apologise to anyone who has experienced a delay.”

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