Northumbria NHS Trust Slammed for Missing Targets

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has been slammed over its failure to hit urgent cancer referral targets.

Transcript

00:00Northumbria Healthcare Trust has made some progress in reducing the backlog of patients

00:05waiting more than 62 days for treatment after an urgent referral for suspected cancer.

00:10However, performance is still below the national target of 85%, with 78% of patients in the

00:16final quarter of 2023-24 receiving treatment within the 62-day window.

00:22NHS England data revealed that as of February 2024, 59 patients in the Northumbria Healthcare

00:27area were waiting longer than the 62-day target.

00:31While the Trust has seen improvements, there remains pressure on referrals for certain

00:34types of cancer, making it clear that the situation is not yet where it needs to be.

00:39Delays in treatment can significantly affect outcomes, making the failure to meet these

00:43targets a serious concern.

00:45Chris Jenkins, the Trust's Director of Performance and Governance, outlined several actions taken

00:49to improve access to services, including efforts to reduce the cancer backlog.

00:54Chris Jenkins acknowledged that while the Trust has made progress in comparison to

00:58other NHS Trusts regionally and nationally, there is still so much work to be done.

01:03Councillor Georgina Hill expressed strong criticism of the NHS as a whole during a meeting

01:07of the Council's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee.

01:10She voiced concerns that the missed cancer targets were costing lives, and stressed that

01:14despite assurances, the situation had not improved over the years.

01:19Hill described the situation as embarrassing, calling for fundamental changes to address

01:24the wider NHS crisis.

01:26She emphasised that her anger was not aimed at local NHS staff who are under significant

01:30pressure, but at the broader national system.

01:33Chris Jenkins acknowledged that while improvements had been made, the Trust's performance was

01:38still far from satisfactory.

01:40A report will be released at the end of the month with updated figures.