Harrogate District Hospital postponed 41 operations as a result of last week’s consultants and junior doctors strikes.
Members of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association and British Medical Association walked out from 7am on Monday, October 2, until 7am on Thursday, October 5.
Both junior doctors and consultants held the industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust confirmed 41 outpatient appointments were cancelled across a range of hospital services due to the walkout last week.
A spokesperson for the trust added:
“These have been re-arranged as a matter of priority. We are in discussions with six patients to confirm new dates for their operations.”
The trust confirmed that internal and bank staff were used to cover the strikes.
Bank staff are temporary workers who agree to work flexible shifts with a hospital trust. Some trusts keep a record of their own bank staff to call upon for shifts.
However, a trust spokesperson added that a total figure for the cost of staffing will not be available until the end of the month.
It comes as Harrogate hospital has been hit by numerous strike action this past year.
Between April 1 and August 31, junior doctors and consultants have staged multiple walkouts with some lasting as long as 48 hours.
The Stray Ferret reported last month that the trust spent £923,000 on staff cover for industrial action in the same time period.
Read more:
- Harrogate hospital roof contains crumbling concrete
- Harrogate hospital spends nearly £1 million on staff cover for strikes
- Concern over number of York ambulances diverted to Harrogate hospital
1,300 people waiting a year for operations at Harrogate hospital, says chief executive
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.”
Read more:
- Plea for Harrogate hospital visitors to wear masks after people refuse to follow guidance
- Harrogate hospital trust plans home care service to tackle bed blocking
- Harrogate hospital staff selling days off to cope with cost of living crisis
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:
Harrogate hospital plans new £14m operating theatres“We will be going through that process next year to get us some more capacity on the site.”
Harrogate District Hospital is planning a £14 million project to create two new operating theatres in an effort to tackle waiting times for treatment.
The scheme would 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 hospital currently has six operating theatres, including general and emergency surgery.
Officials at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the move would help to increase capacity for operations and reduce waiting times for both planned and emergency surgery.
The project forms part of a national funding scheme to help hospitals tackle long waiting lists.
A spokesperson for the hospital trust told the Stray Ferret:
“The number of theatres currently at our trust/Harrogate District Hospital limits the number of operations we can undertake on a weekly basis.
“Additional theatres will enable us to treat more patients each week, which will reduce waits for both planned and emergency operations.”
Read more:
- Harrogate care costs climb to £54,000 a year as ‘colossal’ price rises bite
- Hospital ‘not anticipating’ service cuts due to energy price surge
The trust added that the project will also help to “future proof” the hospital for a growth in population and changes in demographic in the district.
The scheme has been submitted to senior NHS officials and is currently being reviewed.
Trust officials said they expected a response on grant funding within the next four weeks. However, the project would also require planning permission before it goes ahead.
25,500 patients waiting
It comes as Harrogate hospital is currently tackling a long waiting list for patients awaiting treatment.
According to the trust’s own board papers, there were 25,564 patients waiting for an operation at the end of August.
Of that number, 1,297 had been waiting more than 52 weeks.
While the overall number of patients waiting is down by 65 on July, it is an increase of 3,396 on the same time last year.
In a report to the board, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at the trust, said:
Most Harrogate hospital operations to go ahead on Monday“We have had a difficult summer and we are now moving towards winter knowing that the current level of acute pressures and community services workload are already significant.
“Combined with the need to reduce our elective care backlog, the challenges that we are managing are significant.”
The majority of planned operations at Harrogate District Hospital are set to go ahead on Monday.
Staff at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust have been contacting patients after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was made an official bank holiday.
The trust said that of 35 operations due to go ahead on Monday, 33 were still due to proceed.
Two non-urgent operations have been cancelled. The hospital said one was rescheduled on request of the patient.
The trust said in a statement:
“We are working hard to deliver as many of the appointments and operations that have been booked to take place on Monday, September 19, as possible.
“By the end of this week, we will contact anyone who has an appointment, endoscopy or operation on that date to let them know if it is going ahead as planned or not.
“We would ask anyone who might be affected to please wait for the call from out teams.”
Read more:
- Covid infections in Harrogate district lowest for 15 months
- Hospital ‘not anticipating’ service cuts due to energy price surge
It comes as hospitals across the country have been told to contact patients ahead of the bank holiday to inform them of whether their appointments are going ahead.
In a letter to all English hospital trusts, Dr Ursula Montgomery, director of primary care at NHS England, said:
“For patients with planned appointments that are affected by the bank holiday, please ensure they are informed in advance of any changes by utilising direct patient communications.
“Where planned appointments are going ahead it is important this is also confirmed with patients.”