More than 100 patients in the Black Country and Staffordshire have been waiting longer than a year to be treated, and the Government is threatening to crack down on hospitals which fail to sort the problem out.

The latest figures for the hospital for September have revealed  that 118 patients in the region have been waiting  for more than 12 months for their treatment.

Troubled Stafford Hospital has been forced admit that a computer problem has meant it cannot provide its figures.

Its chief executive Lyn Hill-Tout said: “This should not affect patient care but it does mean we can’t confidently monitor or report compliance, and we are working to resolve these issues as soon as possible.”

The worst in the Black Country was Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital, which had 74 people waiting a year or more by the end of September.

Paula Clark, chief executive of the Dudley Group of Hospitals, said an audit in October found just one patient waiting a year. She explained: “Other patients had either chosen to delay their treatment, not attended, or were receiving treatment for different conditions.”

Walsall Manor Hospital had 26 people waiting longer than a year, while Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital and Sandwell Hospital had nine patients each waiting a year or more.

Read the full story in the Express & Star.