Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on outpatient waiting times at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital of the (a) time taken to fund the modernisation of that hospital and (b) challenges faced in recruiting staff as a result.

While there has been an increase in the waiting time for a first outpatient appointment compared to pre-pandemic levels, it is not possible to attribute this to either the hospital’s modernisation or the recruitment of staff.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is undertaking a £9.3 million upgrade of its emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which will increase capacity and upgrade facilities. This will add 11 cubicles, a new and improved Majors department, a new designated emergency zone for children and young people and a new clinical decisions unit. All areas will be completed by spring 2022.

Construction is also underway on a new modular ward to add additional capacity at the Royal Shrewsbury site, creating 32 additional beds by spring 2022. The Trust has provided alternative options for outpatients, including videoconferencing and telephone appointments. A new diagnostic pod, containing magnetic resonance and computed tomography scanners, has been operational since October 2021 reducing waiting times for outpatients awaiting scans as part of their treatment plan.

Between September 2019 and February 2022, the Trust recruited 290 international nurses. From May 2022, the Trust will begin a new recruitment campaign for a further 100 international nurses.