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25
Nov 2022
Last Updated: 25/11/2022
1,300 people waiting a year for operations at Harrogate hospital, says chief executive
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, speaking at Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee.
Harrogate District Hospital has 1,300 people waiting more than a year for an operation.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the number of patients waiting was a legacy from the covid pandemic.
The trust estimates that it currently has a total waiting list of 25,000 people - an increase of 7,000 before covid.
Mr Coulter said part of the reason for the increase is because the hospital halted some operations during the pandemic.
He told a Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency meeting of North Yorkshire County Council yesterday:
“We never ever had people waiting over a year for planned care at all in Harrogate.
“Most people were seen within four months. That was the majority.
“We now have 1,300 people waiting over a year for their operation or their treatment. We did go over two years in some cases, but that has now come down.”
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Mr Coulter told the meeting that the hospital expected to have no patient waiting more than a year for an operation by the end of 2023.
He added that the trust board had approved an increase in capacity at the hospital to help deal with the long waiting list.
The £14 million project will see two additional operating theatres, two procedure rooms and a 12-bed ward for patients who require extended stays in care built on the site.
The trust also hopes the project will help to “future proof” the hospital for a growth in population and changes in demographic in the district.
Mr Coulter said:
“We will be going through that process next year to get us some more capacity on the site.”
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