Local hospital waiting lists are 7x worse than a decade ago; Clive Jones demands action on Royal Berkshire hospital

As a part of this week’s elective care reforms, the Department for Health and Social Care announced that financial incentives will be provided to NHS trusts that cut waiting lists quickly so that they can invest in ward repairs and new equipment. 

In a House of Commons debate, Clive Jones MP highlighted some of the action being taken by the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Trust to deliver faster waiting times for patients, including the implementation of a ‘virtual hospital’ so that patients can be seen in the comfort of their own home. 

However, the Royal Berks’ crumbling estate means that it is at a potential disadvantage compared to other hospitals with modern estates. 95% of its lifts are beyond end of life, and some operations have had to be cancelled due to estate issues. The waiting list data reveals the size of scale of the challenge and that the work of our dedicated NHS staff needs to be complimented by urgent and proper investment in the rebuild of the Royal Berks. 

Clive Jones is calling for the next steps of the New Hospital Programme to be published as soon as possible and for the Government to adopt the most ambitious timeline for the RBH rebuild. The Government have stated that this information will be published “shortly”. 

Clive Jones, the MP for Wokingham, said: 
“The data on local hospital waiting times reveal the scale of the challenge that we face in Wokingham. 

Yesterday’s elective care reforms cannot be meaningfully implemented until the Government get on and set out the most ambitious timeline for delivering the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Any further delays will stop meaningful improvements. 

I was elected to demand better for my constituents on the NHS and I will continue to do so tirelessly.”