University Hospitals Sussex has delivered by far the biggest absolute reduction in waiting list numbers in the entire NHS. In fact, the reduction achieved by University Hospitals Sussex accounted for nearly one-fifth of England’s total reduction in 2024.
Chief executive Dr George Findlay said: “Clearly, too many people are waiting too long to access hospital services, and I wish to apologise to everyone who continues to wait for treatment at one of our hospitals.
“However, it’s also important we acknowledge and commend the hard work and innovations of our teams in Sussex, especially when they are delivering such staggering achievements on behalf of our patients, with support from our partners.”
In the 12 months to December 2024, the national waiting list reduced by 1.9%, from 7.6 million to 7.5 million people. Over the same period, University Hospitals Sussex reduced its waiting list by 18.5%, from around 149,000 to 121,500. This reduction of 27,500 patients is 19.1% of the total reduction achieved in England last year.
“Our teams are working extraordinarily hard, into evenings and weekends, to see as many patients as safely and swiftly as possible,” said Dr Findlay.
“Last year, they provided 131,000 more outpatient appointments compared to 2023, and 16,000 more day-case and inpatient operations.
“As a result, we’re currently we’re seeing nearly a fifth more people in our hospitals than we were before the pandemic and we’re reducing waiting times every month.
“But colleagues aren’t just working harder – they’re working smarter too. We’ve introduced new services, improved our data quality, and worked closely with other providers with the capacity to see some patients more quickly.”
University Hospitals Sussex is also receiving support from NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) improvement programme to address waiting times for the Trust’s most challenged specialities.
Professor Tim Briggs, NHS England national director for elective recovery, and GIRFT programme chair, said: “We’ve been impressed with how University Hospitals Sussex executive team have positively engaged with our team.
“We are seeing demonstrable change, including a10.5% reduction in their overall referral to treatment time waiting list over the past six months. We have confidence in the team continuing to deliver improvements while recognising the scale of the challenges they are managing.”
University Hospitals Sussex was created on 1 April 2021, when overnight it became one of the largest Trusts in the country, serving more than one million patients from its seven hospitals in Sussex, satellite sites and various community services.
Its development as a new Trust has been slowed by the longer-term impact of the Covid pandemic on the NHS, as well as issues inherited from its predecessor organisations, including an investigation into historic claims of medical negligence at the Royal Sussex County Hospital between 2015 and 2021.
However, despite challenges remaining, chief executive Dr George Findlay is confident the new Trust is beginning to deliver upon its huge potential and is keen to recognise the achievements of his 20,000 colleagues improving care for patients.
He said: “In January, our patient feedback was excellent. 10,000 patients took the time to complete the Friends and Family Test, and colleagues should take heart that they achieved a positivity rating of more than 93% – at the height of winter pressures too.
“In many areas, our patient satisfaction rates were above the national average, including Outpatients and A&E, as well as Maternity where our teams achieved 97%, compared to the national average of 91%.
“We’re also seeing improved urgent and emergency care performances with our Type 1 A&E departments currently ranked tenth out of 31 Trusts in the South East for seeing, treating, admitting or discharging patients within four hours.
“Of course, we have much more to do to improve responsiveness and services for patients, and we are never complacent when it comes to safety and quality – but we know what our issues are, have plans in place to fix them, and we’re seeing good results.”
Dr Findlay added: “I am exceptionally proud to work alongside so many compassionate, skilled and dedicated colleagues at University Hospitals Sussex. And I wish to take this opportunity to thank them all for everything they’re doing to reduce waiting times and provide excellent care, day in, day out, for our patients.”