Thousands waiting for hospital treatment in Essex
Piers Meyler, Local Democracy Reporter
Essex has thousands waiting for hospital treatment - Credit: Archant
More than 180,000 people are waiting for hospital treatment in Essex, according to recent data.
The number of people on NHS waiting lists across England for routine work such as hip and knee operations soared to 5.12 million at the end of April – the highest level on record.
In the Mid Essex CCG area 29,815 people referred by GPs for treatment were waiting to start hospital treatment.
While individuals could have more than one referral for different conditions, the numbers represent the equivalent of 10.4 percent of the population in the area waiting for treatment.
Of those waiting, 65.9 percent had been waiting less than the target time of 18 weeks. The average wait to be treated is 10.7 weeks.
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In the Basildon and Brentwood CCG area 22,960 people referred by GPs for treatment were waiting to start hospital treatment, equivalent of 11.1 percent of the population waiting. Of those waiting, 64.2 percent had been waiting less than the target 18 weeks.
In West Essex 21,698 people were waiting to start hospital treatment - equivalent to 12.2 percent of the population. Of those waiting, 60 percent had been waiting less than 18 weeks.
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At the end of April, there were 11,281 people across Essex who had been waiting more than a year for treatment. There were also 225 people who had been waiting for more than two years.
Across England, the number of people on NHS England waiting lists grew from 4.95 million at the end of March to 5.12 million in April.
Despite the rise, waiting times across the country have improved.
The proportion waiting less than 18 weeks increased slightly from 64.4 per cent in March to 64.6 per cent in April.
The number of people waiting over a year to begin treatment dropped by more than 50,000 in April from 436,127 to 385,490.
It means 7.5 percent of those on the list have been waiting more than a year.
Numbers are still much higher than pre-pandemic levels – 1,613 people had been waiting more than a year in February 2020.
