NHS staff across London have reduced waits of more than 18 months for surgical procedures and other routine treatment by 78% since March 2022, as part of the elective recovery plan to address the longest waiting times for patients.

Despite significant pressures on the NHS, the hard work of staff in the capital has seen the total number of patients waiting more than 18 months fall to 689 in March 2023, down from 3,226 in March 2022.

The NHS has been hit by the most disruptive industrial action in its history with nearly 55,000 hospital appointments cancelled in London in April during the four-day junior doctor strike action.

Teams across London have been using innovative methods to bring down the elective backlog, such as High Intensity Theatre (HIT) lists focusing on one type of surgical procedure, surgical hubs and super weekend theatres, along with the help of cutting-edge robotic technology and safer X-ray scanners.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recently completed their super-surgery weekend for endometriosis treatment, which saw specialists perform a staggering 24 surgical procedures over one weekend. Focusing on one type of surgery and with the latest robotic equipment, the team completed eight times the number of procedures usually performed in one week.

A team of doctors at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust recently became the first in the world to use the Versius robot to remove tumours growing in the mouth. This less invasive approach speeds up recovery time and means patients need fewer future treatments or avoid the need for additional treatments altogether.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ also carried out a week’s worth of operations in a single day through robot assisted cancer operations. The trust has run a series of HIT lists, which has seen great results, including eight prostate cancer operations carried out in a single day.

Working together to share theatres and capacity, hospitals in north central London have also reduced waiting times of more than 78 weeks by 85% over the last 12 months. Using data to make quick decisions, local teams can respond to bottlenecks in individual services by directing patients to other hospitals, making the most of all capacity.

This progress builds on the success of NHS staff in meeting the first elective recovery target, with waits of more than two years virtually eliminated by July last year.

 Dr Chris Streather, Medical Director for the NHS in London said:

“While the NHS has faced immense pressures this year so far, with five consecutive months of industrial action across our ambulance service, nursing, junior doctors and physiotherapists, we are continuing to move in the right direction and see the backlog from the pandemic go down, thanks to the hard work of our staff who continue to go above and beyond to provide the very best care for our patients.

“We know it is frustrating to have to wait long periods for your planned care and we are striving to reduce waiting times even further. It is important that people are taking care of their health while they wait for surgery and continue to use the NHS 111 online service if in need of health advice or have any non-life-threatening concerns.”