Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times at (a) East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Ipswich Hospital.

It is the responsibility of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), of which Ipswich Hospital is a part of, to take the steps required to reduce waiting times at the trust. ESNEFT have established an admission avoidance programme, where only patients who need to be in hospital are admitted, following systematic triage by ambulance and community care services, reducing bed occupancy in the hospitals.

The trust now run extended clinics and operating lists throughout evenings and weekends to significantly increase the number of patients seen. This includes all services from consultations to diagnostic tests. The new established Community Diagnostic Centre at Clacton Hospital is providing a range of diagnostic services for outpatients and general practitioner referrals and are currently offer computerised tomography scans within just two weeks of referral. ESNEFT are reforming to provide more in the community, using virtual wards and establishing an effective discharge system.