By 
The waiting list at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stratford, Warwick and Ellen Badger hospitals, grew by 760 in a month to reach 31,997 at the end of August, according to NHS England’s latest figures. It stood at 31,237 at the end of July. The Stratford Herald first reported the rise; we’ve gone to the national data for the detail by service.
On this page
Two things to bear in mind. The figures cover the whole trust, not each hospital, so they don’t show how many of these waits are for Stratford Hospital. They also count waits rather than people, so someone waiting for two treatments counts twice.
How the trust compares
The NHS standard is for 92% of patients on the list to have waited no more than 18 weeks. At this trust the figure was 67.3% in August, down from 68.3% in July. That’s a little above the figure for England, 65.2%, but well short of the standard.
Long waits rose too: 398 waits had passed a year by the end of August, up from 312 in July. None had passed 65 weeks.
Where the waits are longest
| Service | On the list | Within 18 weeks | Over a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eyes (ophthalmology) | 3,971 | 57.5% | 94 |
| Ear, nose and throat | 3,791 | 58.9% | 26 |
| Urology | 2,498 | 54.7% | 18 |
| Oral surgery | 1,310 | 39.2% | 31 |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,169 | 42.6% | 84 |
| Plastic surgery | 457 | 44.0% | 33 |
| All services | 31,997 | 67.3% | 398 |
Oral surgery has the longest typical wait of the main services, with half of those on its list having waited more than 23.4 weeks. Respiratory medicine saw the sharpest change in long waits, from 34 past a year in July to 84 in August. Trauma and orthopaedics, one of the largest lists at 3,614, was at 85.6% within 18 weeks with nobody past a year.
What the trust says
According to the Herald, a trust spokesperson said ear, nose and throat patients from George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, which shares its leadership with South Warwickshire, had been offered surgery at the trust. The spokesperson said it was adding operating sessions, that George Eliot was recruiting two consultants, and that the number waiting more than 52 weeks should fall significantly by December. We haven’t seen a statement on the trust’s own website.
If you’re on the list
The NHS’s guide to waiting times sets out the 18-week maximum for non-urgent, consultant-led treatment, the exceptions to it, and how to complain if you’re unhappy with the response you get. NHS England publishes the figures every month, and the trust’s next joint board meeting with George Eliot is on 2 December.
Know more about this, or got another story? Send us a story, a photo or a press release. We read everything.
Alex Harrington
Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.
