Just 43% of urgent cancer referrals to Harrogate District Hospital are being seen on time, according to new figures.
Under national targets, 93% of cancer patients are required to see a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.
But Harrogate hospital’s performance is now significantly below this.
A report to the trust’s board, which includes figures up to August this year, shows how the figure for two-week waits has been in gradual decline since April.
Managers at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust have attributed to the decline to increased demand.
The matter has seen officials at the trust designate the performance under “matters of concern and risks to escalate”.
The trust said in board papers that additional breast clinic work to improve its performance included “outsourcing work to a private provider with additional clinics in place”.
Harrogate District Hospital’s two-week cancer waiting time performance. Data: Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The Stray Ferret asked the trust what was being done to improve waiting times for patients.
A spokesperson said:
“The two-week target performance for cancer has been affected by some large spikes in demand, in particular, specialty areas such as skin and breast cancer.
“Our clinical teams are providing additional clinics to address this and bring our waits back under the two-week target.
“For those patients who are unable to be seen within two weeks, the vast majority are seen just outside this target, and treatments, where cancer is confirmed, continue to be delivered in a timely manner.”
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Harrogate hospital A&E performance remains ‘well below’ national standard
A&E waiting times performance at Harrogate District Hospital remains “well below” the national standard as health bosses urge people to only attend the department if necessary.
Latest figures show that the hospital had 4,554 attendances to its emergency department in August 2022.
The national standard for emergency department waiting times is to admit, transfer or discharge 95% of patients within four hours.
According to NHS England figures, 62% of patients were seen within that timeframe at Harrogate hospital.
Meanwhile, a total of 82 patients waited longer than 12 hours to be seen.
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In a report to its board, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the performance remained “well below” the standard set nationally.
He said:
“The board should be aware that our A&E performance in August remained well below the national standard and we had a higher number of 12 hour waits in the department than in previous months.
“The situation has improved in September, but the changes that we have initiated and highlighted earlier need to be delivered in order for us to provide the improved urgent care service that we all want to have in place.”
Visiting the Emergency Department at Harrogate District Hospital pic.twitter.com/8cITeTrHkj
— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) October 3, 2022
The move comes as the trust has urged people to only attend its emergency department if they have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.
In a statement, the trust said it expected to see a high number of patients at A&E this week.
It said:
“This week we are expecting our hospital in Harrogate to be very busy. As a result, visitors to our emergency department with less serious issues may experience longer waiting times than usual.
“This isn’t ideal and we will endeavour to keep waiting times as short as possible.”
Have you experienced a long wait in Harrogate’s A&E department? We’d like to hear from you. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197.
Health officials warn of 12-hour waits at Harrogate hospital A&EHealth managers are warning of waiting times of up to 12 hours at Harrogate District Hospital’s emergency department.
West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts, which is a partnership of six hospital trusts including Harrogate, has urged patients to only attend the department for life-threatening injury or illness.
Hospital officials have warned that some patients are waiting as long as 12 hours for treatment.
Latest figures show that Harrogate District Hospital had 4,595 attendances to its emergency department in February 2022.
The national standard for emergency department waiting times is to admit, transfer or discharge 95% of patients within four hours.
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According to NHS England figures, 65% of patients were seen within that time at Harrogate hospital.
Dr Andrew Lockey, consultant physician in emergency medicine with Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, which is one of the six trusts that belong to West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts, said:
“It’s really important that people only come to an accident and emergency department if they really need to. Our hospitals are extremely busy, and people are having to wait a long time to be seen.
“Over the past two weeks we’ve faced huge challenges with the sharp uplift in the number of people attending accident and emergency. This places additional pressure on our teams who are responsible for treating patients with serious and life-threatening conditions.
“If you are unwell and are unsure which healthcare service you need, call NHS 111. A highly-trained clinical advisor will direct you to the most appropriate service.”