Thousands of people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are stuck on waiting lists for non-urgent treatments with some waiting as long as two years.

The number of people waiting for planned operations and treatment has spiralled in Cornwall since 2020.

Elective and planned care includes procedures which are not considered to be urgent and are planned in advance.

They can include hernia repairs, cataract surgery and cosmetic procedures.

Figures shared with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) last week show that in March 2020 there were just 49 people waiting 52 weeks for planned care – but in September 2022 that had leapt to 4,558.

Similarly whilst in 2020 there were no people waiting 104 weeks – two years – for treatment, in September that had increased to 125.

The figures also show there are 2,150 people who have been waiting for 65 weeks and 838 waiting 78 weeks. In 2020 there were none.

The total number of people waiting for any planned care has increased since 2020 – then there were 35,577 on the waiting list but in September this year there were 64,126. The number of people waiting between 18 and 52 weeks has more than tripled – from 7,013 in 2020 to 22,074 in September 2022.

A number of targets have been set for the reduction of waiting lists including an aim to have nobody waiting for 78 weeks by April 2023, no over 65 week waits by March 2024 and nobody waiting more than a year by March 2025.

At a meeting of the ICB, which brings together people working across the NHS and in social services at Cornwall Council, members heard about work being done to try to cut the waiting list.

A number of new services have been commissioned or are being planned.

These include a new community diagnostic centre in Bodmin; a community diagnostic centre at West Cornwall Hospital; and an elective surgical hub in Bodmin. The Bodmin diagnostic centre is now able to provide CT scans for patients.

A business case has been developed and submitted for the centre at West Cornwall Hospital; and a business case for capital funding has been submitted for a surgical hub at Bodmin which would be a modular unit with two day case theatres, recovery areas, pre-operative assessment area and day treatments space.