TENS of thousands of patients are still waiting for treatments and operations at Great Western Hospital.

The hospital trust is aiming to eliminate waits of more than 18 months by next April, and will be continuing some non-urgent appointments, scans and clinics on Monday.

As of the end of July 2022, NHS England figures show 33,117 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - up from 32,573 in June, and 25,747 in July 2021.

Of those, 1,215 (four per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year. The median waiting time from referral to treatment at GWH was 14 weeks.

Nationally, 6.8 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of July – a new record.

At GWH, 12,398 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time. Of them, 6,588 (53 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Healthcare think tank The King's Fund said the new Prime Minister must act urgently to tackle the problems blighting the NHS as it heads into a "terrible" winter.

Chief executive Richard Murray added: “The challenges affecting the NHS cannot be solved without addressing the systemic workforce shortages and sustained funding shortfalls in social care.

"The new PM and Secretary of State have a matter of weeks to decide what emergency short term action to take to provide at least some additional support during what promises to be a terrible winter for patients and staff.

"This could include maximising the campaigns for winter Covid boosters and flu vaccines, tackling the pensions issue driving senior staff out of the NHS, and emergency funding to boost capacity in social care."

Other figures from NHS England show that of 75 patients urgently referred by their GP who were treated at GWH in July, 49 were receiving cancer treatment within two months of their referral.

A month previously – when 86 patients were referred – 65 were treated within 62 days. In July 2021, 73 patients were treated within this period, out of 84 that were referred.

A spokesperson for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Covid-19 pandemic, and other increased pressure upon the NHS, have presented considerable challenge over the past few years which has resulted in higher demand for urgent and emergency care services and longer waiting lists than have ever been experienced before.

“Despite this, we are working hard to reduce waiting times for treatment.

“The national Elective Recovery Plan published in early 2022 sets out two key Referral to Treatment targets to achieve this financial year: to have no patients waiting longer than two years, which we have achieved, and to eliminate waits of over 18 months by April 2023.

“We are working hard to achieve this, by running services for longer hours so we can offer more appointments, and working with partner organisations to get patients the right care in the right place.

“We’re also undergoing continual checking of our waiting lists, working to keep in touch with patients to understand if their condition improves or worsens.

“If patients feel they are becoming more unwell, we would encourage them to contact their GP or the relevant trust speciality their care falls under.

“We will be maintaining much of our usual activity on Monday September 19, including routine, non-urgent clinics, outpatient appointments and scans.

!We understand the sensitivities around the recent sad news of the Queen’s death and funeral, so we will be calling patients directly to confirm whether or not they are able to attend their appointment.”