MORE than 2,000 patients have been waiting more than a year for routine treatment at Dorset County Hospital Trust due to the 'significant impact' of the Covid response.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England says a 'huge, hidden waiting list is building' across the nation under lockdown.

NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks.

But NHS statistics show 2,169 patients listed for elective operations or treatment at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at the end of November had been waiting for at least 52 weeks - a record high for the month.

This was the highest figure for the month since comparable records began in 2011 – by the end of November the previous year, just five patients had faced such lengthy delays.

It was also more than the 2,057 who had been left waiting for this long in October.

Dorset County Hospital’s chief nursing officer Nicky Lucey said: "The coronavirus response has had a significant impact on the services we can provide to our patients, but we have been working extremely hard to restart activities that were paused during the pandemic.

"Our teams have worked incredibly hard to maintain urgent procedures, and to run as many appointments as possible during the pandemic through telephone and video consultations.

"Inevitably we are now facing some long waiting times for routine surgery within a number of specialities and work is under way to address this backlog.

"We understand the impact longer waits have on our patients and we apologise for the inconvenience of any delay in treatment.

"The safety of our patients is our top priority and we will prioritise the most clinically urgent patients. We have rigorous infection control safety measures in place to protect both our patients and our staff. As a result of these measures some planned treatments are taking longer to perform than they did before which is also adding to delays.

“We would like to thank people for their patience and reassure them that our teams are doing everything they can to maintain as many services as safely as possible."

Across England, the number of people waiting a year or more hit 192,200, the highest figure since April 2008 and up from just 1,400 in November 2019.

Professor Neil Mortensen, president of the RCS, said the figures show the 'calamitous impact' of Covid-19 on operation waiting times.

“For thousands of people in this country a corrective operation is the best way to relieve debilitating pain and get them back up on their feet, back to work and enjoying life again,” he said.

“Many of us were complaining about the pain of the lockdown restrictions in November. However, we should remember all those people waiting for an operation who had their physical pain to deal with, on top of the pain of lockdown.”

Prof Mortensen added: “A huge, hidden waiting list is building up under lockdown.

“When we eventually emerge from this crisis, we will need sustained investment to treat all those who have been waiting patiently for treatment.”

At Dorset County Hospital Trust, 16,032 people were waiting to start hospital treatment at the end of November – a two per cent rise from the end of October.

Across England, 4.46 million people were waiting at the end of the month – the highest number since records began.

This was compared to 4.42 million in November 2019 and 4.44 million in October.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Despite 2020 being the year of Covid, nearly 20 million people received emergency care in England’s A&E departments, while in November alone as Covid-19 was spreading more rapidly, patients still benefited from 4 million important elective treatments and essential checks on the NHS.”

He said the figures were a stark reminder of the 'exceptionally tough challenge' facing the health service.