NHS bosses have set a target for no patient to be waiting 18 months for surgery at Harrogate District Hospital.

Officials at NHS England have told Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, that its waiting lists of more than 78 weeks should be brought down by the end of March.

Currently, the trust has 120 patients waiting more than a year and a half to have an operation.

The figure has gradually fallen since April 2022, when 205 people were waiting 18 months or more for surgery.

The number of patients waiting for an operation at Harrogate District Hospital since April 2022. Data: HDFT.

However, the number of patients waiting 52 weeks or more still stands at 1,299 people, an increase on the figure of 1,187 last April.

A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“During the Covid-19 pandemic there was a risk of the NHS being overwhelmed with the number of patients seriously unwell with the virus. Protecting the NHS became a top priority and to ensure there was hospital capacity to cope with the pandemic, and to protect patients and staff, non-urgent routine hospital treatment was postponed.

“Since we emerged from the pandemic, a key focus for the NHS has been to reduce waiting lists, with a particular focus on those waiting longest for planned care, and to eliminate waits of over 104 weeks by March 2022 and 78 weeks by April 2023.

“Elective (planned) care is planned treatment at our hospital involving specialist clinical care or surgery, following a referral by a GP or health professional. It can refer to elective admission, outpatient appointments and diagnostic services, and relate to many conditions to improve the quality of life of a patient, to help them psychologically, or extend their life – for example cataract surgery, hip replacement, physiotherapy, or reconstructive surgery.

“Our teams have been doing extraordinary work to reduce waiting times and to see patients as soon as possible despite the ongoing difficulties that Covid-19 has caused. They have worked hard to add additional clinics, scans and operations; as well as adapting pathways and using technology to improve our offer to patients.”

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Last year, the trust’s board 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.