Almost 60,000 patients still in queue for hospital treatment

Tens of thousands of patients are waiting for routine treatment at hospitals in Sunderland and South Tyneside, new figures show.

- by Echo Reporter

Almost 60k were waiting for operations or treatment at Sunderland Royal Hospital and South Tyneside District Hospital at the end of August.

NHS England figures show 59,244 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust - which runs Sunderland Royal Hospital and South Tyneside District Hospital at the end of August.

That is up slightly on the 59,131 in July, but a decrease on 61,280 the same month last year.

Ofthose, 26 had been waiting for longer than a year.