PATIENT wait times must not be seen as "new normal" after figures revealed they hit record highs in Dorset.

Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at the Dorset University Hospitals Trust in May, figures show.

The Society for Acute Medicine said the record number of people on waiting lists nationally must not be seen as the "new normal".

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The number of patients waiting for prolonged periods for urgent care remains unacceptable and must not be seen as the new normal.

“Patients are being stuck for extortionately long periods in emergency departments and acute medical units which results in worse patient outcomes."

NHS England figures show 72,543 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust at the end of May – up from 61,263 in April, and 48,759 in May 2021.

Of those, 3,323 (5 per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

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Dr Judith May, director of operational performance and oversight at UHD, said: “We appreciate how frustrating it can be for patients waiting for their elective care and we are working hard to make sure people are seen as soon as possible.

“We have recently implemented a unified patient administration system to bring together our speciality waiting lists across UHD. As a result, some patients appear on the new system more than once and while we work to remove the duplications, this will have an impact on our reported total waiting list position. 

"We’d like to reassure patients that this new system will not have an impact on how long they wait.

“We are determined to do everything we can to work through our waiting lists and would encourage all patients who are waiting to be seen to look at ‘My Planned Care (https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/)’.

"This website gives advice and support to help people prepare for their hospital consultation, treatment, or surgery. The latest information about waiting times is available through this site as well as signposting to other local support services.”