More than 1,800 patients died while on Peterborough hospital trust waiting list

There has been a call for more support for the NHS after it was revealed more than 1,800 people died while on waiting lists in and around Peterborough.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Labour Party showed that 1,816 people died while on a waiting list at the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust – the trust which runs Peterborough City, Hinchingbrooke and Stamford & Rutland Hospitals – in 2022/23. The number is the fifth highest of any trust in the country that responded to the FOI.

The data also showed that 675 people died at the trust having been on the waiting list for more than 18 weeks – The NHS constitution states that patients should not wait more than 18 weeks for treatment.

At the time of the FOI, 80,526 were on local waiting lists according to the latest official figures

Andrew Pakes, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Peterborough at the next general election, said hospital staff were doing their best. He said: “Record NHS backlogs are not a record we should be proud of. Far too many people in Peterborough are waiting far too long for care, and the result is that record numbers of people are spending their final months waiting for treatment that never arrives.

“The reality is that despite the best efforts of local hospital staff the NHS is at breaking point."

Dr Callum Gardner, Chief Medical Officer at the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust focussed on trying to shorten waiting list times for patients.

Dr Gardner said: “Sadly, there are a range of circumstances where patients awaiting treatment pass away. This includes patients with more than one health issue, for example.

“Our focus remains on shortening the time patients are waiting for treatment and our teams continue to work hard to deliver extra clinics and more innovative ways of treating patients as soon as possible.”