Shake-up at Oswestry Hospital Spinal Services
Hundreds of patients from England and Wales suffering from back pain have been waiting up to a year only to be told they do not require specialist treatment at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Shropshire.
Referral System Overhaul
Hospital leaders have been informed that the referral system for spinal problems is undergoing major changes to address this issue. The NHS's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme team visited RJAH in January to introduce a new “single point of access” system. This system is currently being trialled ahead of a planned rollout next year.
The goal is to ensure patients receive “the right care at the right place at the right time.”
Increasing Demand and Capacity Challenges
- Nationally, referrals to hospitals have been steadily increasing.
- At RJAH, referrals rose from 4,500 in 2018/19 to 6,802 in 2024/25.
- Of these, 4,021 referrals came from England and 2,781 from Wales.
- This surge has led to an imbalance between capacity and demand.
Concerns About Patient Pathways
A hospital official highlighted a significant concern: a 32% discharge rate after long waits.
“That would indicate we’ve got a problem with our pathways when almost a third of our patients actually don’t need to be here.”
She also noted that patients often wait around 52 weeks to be seen in the outpatient department.
Author's Summary
The Oswestry hospital is reforming its spinal service referral process due to rising demand and inefficiencies causing long patient waits and high discharge rates without treatment.