MORE than 4,000 patients have now been waiting for a year – or longer – for treatment at hospitals in east and north Hertfordshire, according to latest data.

And one patient has already been waiting in excess of THREE years.

Waiting lists for hospital treatment across the country have been climbing since the onset of the Covid pandemic last year.

According to national targets, 92 per cent of patients should be treated within 18 weeks of referral – and NO patient should wait for more than a year.

But latest data – due to be presented to a meeting of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust board on Wednesday (January 12) – points to the increasing numbers of patients who are facing extended waits for treatment.

It shows that of the 53,331 waiting for treatment in November, 23,960 patients had been waiting in excess of 18 weeks.

And that's 569 more than the 23,391 who had already notched up 18-weeks of waiting a month earlier, in October.

It also reports that there were 4,102 patients who had been waiting for more than 52-week breeches – which is 284 more than the 3,818 recorded in October.

It also shows that 76 patients have been waiting for more than 104 weeks – with the longest recorded wait reported to be 165 weeks (equivalent to three years and nine weeks).

During November 12,071 new referrals were made to the Trust – which operates the Lister, the QEII and Hertford County hospitals.

In response, the Trust has stressed that all patients are prioritised for treatment by clinical need, as well as the length of time they have waited.

Meanwhile, in a written report to the Trust board chief executive Adam Sewell-Jones referred to £7million awarded to the Trust in December to increase the number of operations

That will be used to fund three new procedure rooms, a third 'surgical robot', a specialist digital system for ophthalmology services and a new digital scheduling system.

The three new procedure rooms – at the Lister and the QEII Hospital, in Welwyn Garden City – he said, would increase the number of day procedures, that did not require an overnight stay.

And the additional surgical robot, he said, would mean certain complex procedures could be done with minimal invasion, quicker and less painful recovery times.

The new digital scheduling system, he said, would increase the efficiency of the operating theatres at the Lister Hospital – enabling more operations to take place.

And a new specialist digital system for the ophthalmology (eye specialist) service, would allow scans and images to be more easily accessed by clinicians and improve the scheduling of appointments so patients benefit from a faster service.

In response to data showing the increase in the number of patients waiting longer for treatment, a spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said: "We know that many people are waiting patiently for their operations and procedures.

"Despite the current pressures in the Trust, we continue to carry out as many scheduled procedures as possible – prioritising the waiting list for both the clinically urgent and those waiting longest."