Lengthy waiting lists where patients are forced to wait as long as two years before receiving treatment have been branded ‘absolutely unacceptable’ by a key member of an NHS governing body.

Paul Gibara, who is the director of performance improvement at the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), made the comments at a governing board meeting.

The role of CCGs is to decide which services are needed for populations in a certain area, and ensure the services are delivered efficiently.

Mr Gibara’s performance report, which looked into the pressures on NHS departments in north east Essex, found an increase in patients at the East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) waiting over a year for treatment.

A total of 1,847 patients were waiting over a year for treatment in November last year, increasing to 2,011 the following month.

Further statistics showed 63 patients in ESNEFT hospitals were waiting more than two years before receiving treatment.

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But Mr Gibara was bullish in his assessment that such waits would be eradicated by June.

He said: “We are seeing some long waiters – 104 weeks is absolutely unacceptable [but] there’s absolute confidence that by the end of June, we won’t have any 104 week waits.”

Figures on mental health treatment were also discussed, with director of nursing, Lisa Nobes, stating it had been raised as “a real quality concern” at Colchester Hospital.

One patient had been forced to wait more than 150 days at the hospital for mental health treatment.

She said: “It’s been a real concern to us as a system to be able to provide the right environment and treatment.

“It has resulted in one young person who has remained at Colchester’s site for over 150 days waiting for mental health treatment.

“She has now gone to an appropriate place to get treatment, but we’ve had some really concerning times across the system.”

Official NHS documents showed other types of treatments where patients had to ensure lengthy waits.

In January, it was estimated there is a 51 week wait for general surgery for ESNEFT patients, and a 45 week wait for both trauma and gynaecology.