A HOSPITAL has said it working "extremely hard" to tackle a backlog of waiting lists.

Figures released last week revealed an average wait of 16 weeks for routine treatment at Oswestry's Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) Orthopaedic Hospital in February.

These were the same as January and also unchanged from the average wait a year previously.

Sara Ellis-Anderson, interim chief nurse and patient safety officer, admitted some planned operations had been postponed but added "we remain extremely busy".

She said: “While every patient’s care is very important to us, we have had to make the difficult decision in our hospitals to postpone some planned operations.

“We remain extremely busy and are faced with significant pressures as we work to tackle the elective care backlog whilst also managing those patients newly seeking care."

Last week's NHS England figures revealed there were 13,117 patients on the RJAH waiting list in February – up from 12,974 in January, and 11,315 in February 2021. Of those, 1,740 had been waiting for longer than one year.

Nationally, 6.2 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February, up from 6.1 million in January and the highest number since records began in August 2007.

But the figures also show that while the overall waiting list has continued to grow, the number of people waiting more than a year and two years have both fallen.

Ms Ellis-Anderson added: “It is a very challenging situation, and we appreciate how difficult and frustrating this is for many people, but we would like to assure all our patients that our staff are working extremely hard to work through waiting lists and treat patients as quickly as possible.”

Danielle Jefferies, analyst at The King’s Fund, said the latest national figures show pressures are now reaching “unacceptable levels” in all parts of the health and care system.

She added: “A&E departments remain full of patients in need of urgent care, and separate data shows a similar story in general practice and social care.

“In March, 22,500 people waited over 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E – a more than thirty-fold increase compared to a year ago."

Separate figures show 1.5 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in February – the same as in January.

At Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, 1,290 patients were waiting for one of four standard tests, such as an MRI scan or non-obstetric ultrasound at this time.

Of them, 325 (25 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.