Shropshire teen's 31-month wait for NHS appointment

The letter received by the Shropshire family shows the teenager will have to wait until 2025 for an appointment

A 16-year-old boy is facing a 950-day wait for an "urgent" NHS appointment, his family says.

The teenager from Bayston Hill, Shropshire, has been sent a letter from Princess Royal Hospital offering him an appointment for 25 June 2025.

He had been referred last week to the Telford hospital for a urology-related problem but the timeline meant he would be enduring discomfort for more than two-and-a-half years, said family.

The NHS trust says such delay is rare.

Frustrated by the wait, the family - who have asked to remain anonymous - reached out to a local healthcare campaigner Alex Wagner, who told BBC Radio Shropshire the matter was "astounding".

The Liberal Democrat councillor, who sits on Shropshire Council, said: "This is possibly the worst case of the NHS backlog failing a patient that I have seen in a long time.

"To ask someone in need of urgent care to wait for three years is simply unacceptable, and is a damning example of the quality of the service in Shropshire."

The trust has said its 'recruitment challenges' are partly to blame for long appointment delays

Mr Wagner says the teenager is not alone and several people living in the county have faced a similar problem with appointment delays.

"We're a little bit used to it now, no-one is expecting an appointment overnight anymore, but more than two years is frankly too long and we need to get on top of it," he said.

In a statement issued by the Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust (SaTH), the cause of the delay was attributed to "recruitment challenges" along with "significant pressure" caused by Covid-19.

Sheila Fryer, the trust's interim deputy chief operating officer said: "We would like to apologise for the wait for a urology appointment.

'Not acceptable'

"This length of delay is rare and we would like to reassure you that we are doing everything we can, alongside partners, to reduce the amount of time patients are waiting for an appointment."

She added: "We recognise that the current waits are not acceptable."

The plan to tackle by 2025 in England long waits in hospital treatment and cancer care was at serious risk, a spending watchdog said last week.

The National Audit Office report warned inflation and other pressures on the NHS could undermine the push.

These included a lack of staff and hospital beds, which were affecting productivity, it said.

But NHS England said it could overcome the challenges, with the health service on track to hit its targets.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]