A message to our patients who are awaiting treatment, from our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kanchan Rege, "During the first wave of the pandemic, we had to make the difficult decision to delay some of our non-urgent treatments, including some surgeries. This was to ensure we could protect our patients, staff and community from the spread of Covid-19.
"Since then we have put a number of safety measures in place to allow our services to resume. This includes reducing the number of clinics running each day to ensure social distancing can be maintained throughout our hospitals.
"The majority of our services are now open, however the pause to services earlier in the year means our waiting times have increased.
"We understand that delays in treatment causes stress and anxiety for patients and their relatives. Please be assured that we are working through this backlog as quickly as we can, prioritising those who are clinically urgent.
"We are sending letters out to patients waiting for treatment explaining what to do if they are worried about their condition or if their symptoms have got worse.
"Thank you for bearing with us during this challenging time."