PATIENTS at the trust which runs Royal Oldham Hospital, are facing waiting times of more than two years.

Data from a Freedom of Information request (FOI), which asked hospital trusts for details of the patient waiting longest to begin treatment after referral, has revealed a gynaecology patient at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) had been waiting 144 weeks to be seen.

None had been waiting more than three years, unlike several trusts which responded to PA. 

This included Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust which had 15 such patients.

Separate figures published by the NCA show that in February, there were more than 100 patients within the Oldham Care Organisation, which is part of the trust, who had been waiting for planned care for more than 104 weeks. 

Across the trust as a whole, the figure was over 300 - the majority (200) at Salford Royal.

In February, 51.4 per cent in Oldham were seen within 18 weeks- the target is 93 per cent- and a further 1,213 people were recorded to have waited more than a year.

Nationally the number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.

A total of 6.2 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February 2022, according to NHS England figures.

This is up from 6.1 million in January and is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The Government and NHS England have set the ambition to eliminate all waits of more than two years, except when it is the patient’s choice, by July 2022.

Jude Adams, chief delivery officer for the NCA said: “Treating patients who have waited the longest is a key priority for all hospitals across Greater Manchester.

“Due to the Pandemic, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, like a number of hospitals in the region, have a number of patients who have waited over two years for a variety of planned and non-urgent treatment, many of whom have particularly complex medical conditions or require additional support to have treatment.

"We are really sorry for this length of time some patients have had to wait.

"Our initial focus is to ensure we treat these patients wherever possible before the end of summer.

“We are working with our partners across Greater Manchester to identify ways that we can increase the number treatments for patients who have been waiting the longest whilst balancing the needs of those who are clinically urgent.”