MORE must urgently be done to reduce waiting times for elective surgery at Oxfordshire’s hospitals, an NHS regulator has said.

Last November NHS Improvement launched an investigation into Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust over excessive waits faced by patients in A&E, following a cancer diagnosis and for elective surgeries.

In a newly-published report the body said OUH had avoided formal action for the time being, but needed to take ‘significant further action’ or risk having its license revoked under the Health and Social Care Act.

Amanda Lyons, delivery and improvement director for South Central at NHS Improvement, said: “It is important that the Trust tackles elective waiting times to improve patients’ experience and uphold the standards that people expect of the NHS.

“I am confident that the support package we have agreed with the trust gives them the best opportunity to do this.”

Over the course of 2016/17 OUH failed to meet waiting time targets in A&E, with just 86.1 per cent of patients treated, admitted or discharged within four hours against a target of 95 per cent.

Cancer waiting times also continue to be a problem, with 78.1 per cent of people receiving their first treatment within 62 days of a diagnosis against an 85 per cent NHS standard.

Both of OUH’s action plans to deal with these - including reducing bed-blocking in acute settings, and strengthening clinical leadership in oncology - were found to be fit for purpose by the regulator.

Trust chief executive Bruno Holthof said: “The trust will continue to improve performance against these two national waiting standards of emergency and cancer care. We have been busy putting into action our plans to ensure all patients requiring emergency and cancer treatment receive it within minimal waiting time. The improvement has been recognised by NHS Improvement.”

But the Trust’s referral-to-treatment (RTT) waiting times for elective treatment and operations, including gynaecology, ear, nose and throat services, plastic surgery and orthopaedics, continues to be a cause for concern.

About 10 per cent of patients were waiting longer than 18 weeks for procedures in 2017/18.

OUH has approved a short-term action plan covering three months from July to September 2017 and, working with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, has been told to appoint a system-wide ‘Improvement Director’ to oversee elective care.

Mr Holthof added: “NHSI and NHS England require our three organisations to work closely together in order to meet standards on a sustainable basis.”