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Nearly 40,000 patients on waiting lists at Sandwell Hospital

Nearly 40,000 people are waiting for hospital treatment in Sandwell, according to new figures which revealed the borough hospital trust's waiting list is expected to grow 50 per cent since the start of 2018 by the end of the year.

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Sandwell Hospital

Shock new figures revealed the huge backlog of patients waiting to be treated by Sandwell's hospital trust, which has prompted a warning from the borough's clinical commissioning group (CCG).

The waiting list has grown from 30,071 from the start of the year to 37,871 to October. Trust bosses say the number could be as high as 44,000 by the end of the year as they struggle to keep up with the level of demand.

Bosses at the trust, which runs Sandwell General and Birmingham City Hospital, say they are working on 'a plan to address this' heading into 2019.

A trust board report said: "The patient treatment list (waiting list) has steadily increased throughout the year from 30,071 to 37,871 in October with a projection of 42,000 to 44,000 by the end of the year without intervention. A plan to address this across the first six months of 2019 is being finalised."

The report added: "The CCG has emphasised that it expects the trust to manage its waiting list down to March 2018 position and have raised concerns regarding patient clearance rates and backlog."

Meanwhile, trust chief executive Toby Lewis has acknowledged 'unacceptable' A&E waiting times. Just 81.2 per cent of people who arrived in A&E in October, the most recent figures available, were seen within four hours, way down on the Government's 95 per cent target.

Performance has remained fairly static for the last two years as health chiefs have battled to ensure more patients are seen on time.

Mr Lewis added: "Despite that endeavour, our four hour wait position has not improved and is below the first and second planned trajectories for improvement that we set.

"A new medicine and emergency care management team are in place from February but we need to see gains before they arrive."