Exclusive: ‘Computer error’ removed 1,800 patients from trust’s elective waiting list

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust chief executive Matthew Trainer wrote to colleagues in the east London health system today to “apologise for the stress this will have caused those experiencing a delay”.

Of the 1,800 patients involved, 600 have been waiting more than a year and roughly 200 have been waiting for more than two years.

Mr Trainer’s note explained: “The patients have been waiting to see our specialists in routine clinics in gynaecology, neurology, neurosurgery and ophthalmology.”

It continued: “As we have been working through our waiting lists, we have discovered a problem with one of them that was used to deal with the backlog created by the pandemic.

“It contained routine referrals that were submitted by GPs who wanted their patients to be seen by a specialist, but for whom there were no appointments available due to covid-19. Unfortunately, these patients were removed automatically from this list before they had been seen.”

HSJ understands the patients were on a waiting list consisting of referrals made just before and during the pandemic. They were automatically removed after six months if they had not been seen.

Mr Trainer said the error had now been fixed and that the trust was “reviewing every case and are setting up a formal group, reporting to the board, to oversee our response which will be chaired by one of our non-executive directors”.

He concluded: “As a result of the computer error our waiting lists have increased by around 1,800, from 61,400 to 63,200… The NHS target for clearing the 104+ weeks backlog is the end of June, and we are confident we can meet this deadline except for a small number of cases where patient choice may be a factor.”

All acute trusts have been asked to “validate” their waiting lists to ensure all the patients on them still need treatment and to check if their circumstances have changed. These validation exercises have removed a large number of patients from elective waiting lists.

In a separate note, Zina Etheridge, chief executive designate of North East London ICB, told colleagues the trust is contacting those patients “as a matter of urgency”. 

She added: “We know this will be of particular concern to GPs in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge, and specific communications are being sent to local practices to apprise them of the situation.”