A RECORD number of patients had been waiting a year or more for routine treatment at Dorset County Hospital Trust in February, figures reveal - with bosses apologising for the impact and insisting they are doing everything we can to maintain services. The Nuffield Trust said the record size of the NHS waiting list across England shows the health service has been set back years by the coronavirus pandemic and now faces a major backlog . NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks. But NHS statistics show 3,164 patients listed for elective operations or treatment at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at the end of February had been waiting for at least a year – 20% of all those on the waiting list.
ALMOST 200 patients with coronavirus are being treated across hospitals in Dorset, according to latest figures. A total of 194 patients were being cared for at the county s hospital trusts at the most recent count on Tuesday. The figures from NHS England include 143 patients being cared for at University Hospitals Dorset Trust. NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 by 8am on February 16 was down from 191 on the same day the previous week. The number of beds at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 decreased by 64 per cent in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 402.
Outside Dorset s hospitals ALMOST 400 patients with coronavirus are being treated across hospitals in Dorset, according to latest figures. NHS England data shows 386 people were being treated in Dorset hospitals for Covid-19 by 8am on Tuesday, February 2. Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was caring for 61 coronavirus patients in hospital as of Tuesday, figures show - down from 80 on the same day the previous week. The number of beds at Dorset County Hospital, which is covered by the Trust, was occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 increased by 74 per cent in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 35.
MORE than 2,000 patients have been waiting more than a year for routine treatment at Dorset County Hospital Trust due to the significant impact of the Covid response. The Royal College of Surgeons of England says a huge, hidden waiting list is building across the nation under lockdown. NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks. But NHS statistics show 2,169 patients listed for elective operations or treatment at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at the end of November had been waiting for at least 52 weeks - a record high for the month.