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Waiting cut for hip ops
WAITING times for hip replacements in Sunderland have been slashed to their lowest ever level, according to latest figures.
Patients in the city now wait an average of 91 days for the operation, compared to 337 days in 2001/02.
A spokeswoman for Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (TPCT), said: "We are achieving the national target of 90 per cent of patients requiring a hip replacement waiting no more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.
"In fact, for most patients the wait is considerably less.
"Ultimately, our aim is to ensure that all patients, whatever their health needs, receive the best possible treatment in the quickest possible time and we will, of course, continue in our efforts, along with our partners, to achieve this."
A spokesman for City Hospitals Sunderland said: "As with all departments at the trust, orthopaedic waiting times have been reduced dramatically in recent years, to what is historically their lowest level ever.
"This is an ongoing process and it is a key priority to get patients through the system as quickly as possible."
The new figures were revealed after Fraser Kemp, MP for Houghton and Washington East, submitted a Parliamentary question asking for the city's hip replacement waiting times.
The response showed that in 2007/08, Sunderland patients waited 147 days for the surgery, compared to a national average of 107.
The TPCT spokeswoman said: "The position in Sunderland in terms of waiting times for hip replacements has significantly improved on the 2007/08 figure quoted.
"This is as a result of intensive work by the TPCT, as a commissioner of services, along with City Hospitals Sunderland and other healthcare partners."
Mr Kemp said: "I think it's great news that these waiting lists have been so drastically reduced.
"It's a big step forward, transforming and improving many, many people's lives."
Mr Kemp said the reduction was a tribute to all of the people who work at the hospital and within healthcare provision.
He added: "Within the North East, we've seen massive reductions in waiting lists, not just in hip replacements, but on a whole range of medical procedures."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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