More than 1,000 hospital patients waiting year or longer for treatment

According to national targets, 92 per cent of patients should receive treatment within 18 weeks of a GP referral, but in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic hospitals nationwide have struggled to meet the target.

Data for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust shows in January, one in three patients had been waiting for 18 weeks or more for treatment with 1,006 waiting more than a year.

There are also 55 patients who have been waiting for more than two years - the trust had hoped to reduce this to 20 patients.

Meanwhile, overall data presented from December 2021 shows the number of patients waiting for treatment had increased to 32,773.

This figure includes those waiting for a first appointment, a follow-up appointment, a diagnostic service or a treatment.

Commenting on the waiting times reported to the board, a West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We are very sorry when any patient experiences delay to their treatment.

"We continue to use independent sector providers to support the reduction in long waits and run additional clinics where we can.

"We identify and prioritise those patients who are the most acutely unwell to minimise the risk of them coming to harm while they are waiting."

Meanwhile the data presented at a trust board meeting on March 3 shows that more than one in 10 patients – 11 per cent – failed to show up for their outpatient appointment.

Elsewhere, statistics show around one in every 14 ambulances arriving at A&E at Watford General in January were handing over patients within 15 minutes, while 65.5 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours - down on a target of 95 per cent.

The average time recorded for patients who were admitted to A&E was was eight hours and three minutes (483 minutes)  – and for those who were not admitted, it was five hours and four minutes (304 minutes).