Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals achieve best diagnostic performance in five years

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the county’s acute hospitals, has significantly reduced its patient waiting list for diagnostic tests and scans, achieving its best performance in over five years.

The dramatic improvement means patients are receiving the crucial care and treatment they need much sooner, with SaTH now ranking among the top half of trusts nationally for the proportion of patients receiving their diagnostic test within the six-week target.

New figures for July 2025 show that 82.1% of patients were seen within six weeks for a diagnostic test. Furthermore, the Trust has seen an impressive 87% reduction in the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks.

Overall, the total diagnostic waiting list has shrunk by 40% in the last year, a success attributed to the introduction of additional scanning and reporting capacity and the "hard work of the Trust’s teams."

Boost from New Centre and Equipment

Diagnostics are carried out across the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, and the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Stafford Park, Telford.

The purpose-built CDC, which opened in October 2023, has played a significant role by boosting the capacity for elective diagnostic tests and scans, including CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI. The centre is currently open six days a week, with an aim to extend this to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

In a further move to speed up treatment, a new, state-of-the-art linear accelerator machine (LINAC), vital for delivering highly precise radiotherapy to tumours, is now operational at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Major Improvements in Cancer Care

The positive trend is also being seen in cancer care waiting times.

In July, the Trust reported its best performance in 18 months against the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), the national target which aims for a patient with suspected cancer to receive their results within 28 days of referral.

Performance against the 62-day referral to treatment target was the best for more than three years, and the number of patients currently waiting in excess of 62 days is at its lowest point in over four years.

Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer, acknowledged the progress while emphasising the Trust's commitment to further improvement.

“Whilst we are making progress, we are humble and know we have more to do,” he said. “Behind every number is a person and their loved ones and that is what drives our improvement work. We want to reduce waiting times to ensure our patients receive a diagnosis as quickly as possible.”

Mr Hobbs extended a "big thank you" to the dedicated teams whose commitment has been key to driving these significant improvements.