Waiting times are set to reduce for patients throughout County Durham and Darlington who need orthopaedic treatment.

Across the country, orthopaedics (the specialty that treats problems with joints and bones) has the longest waiting times for people in need of medical treatment. Every week more than 200 people in the County Durham and Darlington area (about 10,000 a year) are referred for their first outpatient appointment, which can take up to five weeks. Patients requiring surgery could wait a further 13 weeks before their operation can be carried out.

But NHS County Durham commissioners, who work on behalf of NHS Darlington, have opened up choice for patients so that waiting times for outpatient appointments and operations can be halved.

Steve Rundle, acute services development manager for NHS County Durham, explains: “Many patients automatically assume they can only be treated at their nearest hospital and expect to wait anything up to five or six weeks for an outpatient appointment.

“However, patients can now choose to be referred to almost any hospital in the country, whether public or private, and have this treatment funded by the NHS. There are 15 NHS and seven private hospitals in and around County Durham and Darlington, from Northumberland down to Teesside, all of which can offer an orthopaedic service to patients.

“Whilst waiting times vary between providers, patients now have the option to wait only a week for an outpatient appointment and approximately a further four weeks for an operation, depending on their choice of hospital and procedure. As well as having shorter waiting times, a number of hospitals have single-occupancy en-suite rooms rather than 4 or 6-bedded bays on wards.”

Patients who are being referred to orthopaedics should discuss choosing a hospital with their GP. Some private hospitals are unable to treat certain patients, but the GP will be able to advise on the most appropriate choice.

Director of delivery and performance for NHS County Durham, Amanda Hume, said: "This is a good example of the NHS putting in place the choices to cut down patient waiting times.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to work with both public and private sectors to offer additional services to people so that long waits for orthopaedic treatment become a thing of the past."

ENDS For further information please contact the communications team on 0191 3333386.