Portsmouth hospital waiting times have increased with some patients waiting two years for NHS treatment

Despite a national push to eliminate the worst waiting times, Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust - which oversees Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham - is still struggling.

As part of an effort to clear the backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic, NHS England committed in February to ending waits of more than two years, except in cases where the patient wishes to delay their treatment.

However, new figures show there were five patients waiting this long for routine treatment at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust as of July 3 – the latest available data – an increase from three at the end of February, and making it one of just a handful of trusts to see a rise.

Among the people to have previously fallen victim to wait times was Copnor gym owner, Dan Fallon. The Royal Navy veteran from North End was left waiting for two weeks for his broken upper arm to be fixed after he snapped it arm wrestling a friend.

Speaking of the delays, Dan previously told The News: ‘It’s really frustrating and I’m really disappointed. I don’t want to bash the NHS. I have lots of friends and family who work for the NHS and do a great job but the communication between departments just doesn’t seem to be there or working.

‘I can’t hold my little girl because of my arm. She’s eight months old and if she were to wriggle I could drop her. I’m right-handed but can’t use my right arm at the moment to write or feed myself.’

SEE ALSO: Drones start dropping off prescriptions to Thorney Island

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, insisted fewer people were facing delays and that teams had worked hard to tackle the Covid backlog.

But he warned that more work is needed for the NHS to catch up and said staff were doing all they can to cut down delays.

‘There is no doubt the NHS still faces significant pressures, from rising Covid admissions, thousands of staff absences due to the virus, the heatwave, and record demand for ambulances and emergency care,’ he said.