News from our partners: SaTH among best in country for ensuring patients wait no more than 18 weeks between seeing GP and having hospital treatment

News from our partners Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

The Trust which runs Shropshire’s two acute hospitals is among the best in the country for making sure patients wait no longer than 18 weeks between seeing their GP and having treatment at hospital.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has hit the hit national 92% referral to treatment (RTT) for 12 of the past 13 months, and are on course do so again this month (October 2018).

In September 2018, 92.68% of SaTH’s patients received planned operations or planned care within 18 weeks of being referred to hospital – above the 92% target and the national average of 87.2%.

SaTH are ranked 21 out of 126 hospital trusts in the UK for ensuring patients have planned operations and care within 18 weeks of referral – putting them well inside the top 20%

Nigel Lee, Chief Operating Officer, said:

“Tackling this issue has been one of our top priorities and continuing to hit this milestone is great for our patients and marks a fantastic achievement for our staff.

“We are very proud of the good standards of care we continue to provide.”

The 92% RTT target is one of the Government’s key access targets and a patient right within the NHS Constitution.

Further information

• The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is the main provider of acute hospital care for almost 500,000 people from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales. Patients come to us from Telford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Whitchurch, Newtown and Welshpool in Powys.
• The Trust continues to work with its partners in health and social care in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales to develop patient-focused services that meet the needs of our communities.