Beds are being unnecessarily occupied while tens of thousands of people wait for treatment at Royal Bolton Hospital.

During a NHS Bolton Foundation Trust board of directors meeting held on September 29, the chief operating officer Rae Wheatcroft revealed that 35,000 patients are currently on the hospital's treatment waiting list.

To make matters worse, at the time of the meeting, there were also 130 patients currently occupying beds with "no criteria to reside", meaning they are no longer required to stay at the hospital.

This number of patients with no criteria to reside, it was revealed to the board, equates to 931 delayed days.

The Trust is actively attempting to reduce waiting lists. It says it continues to create as much capacity as possible by working with the independent sector and with partners across Greater Manchester to reduce waiting lists.

In the summer, building work began on two new state-of-the-art theatres at Royal Bolton on what was a staff car park near the Princess Anne maternity unit.

The Trust has also recently expanded its endoscopy unity and bought new equipment, which has helped in reducing the waiting list for cancer treatments.

It has also enlisted a "systems partner" - the Advancing Quality Alliance (AQUA) - to help address the no criteria to reside issue.

AQUA is a membership organisation within the NHS, providing quality improvement expertise, specialist learning and development, and consultancy.

Fiona Noden, chief executive at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Bolton locality place-based lead, said: “Bolton and Greater Manchester are two of the areas hardest hit by Coronavirus in the country, which has impacted the speed of our elective care recovery.

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“Managing our patients on an elective waiting list remains a key priority. Hospitals across Greater Manchester are working together to make sure patients receive the care they need, in the right place, as quickly as possible.

“In Bolton, we’re using a range of initiatives to reduce waiting lists, including community diagnostic centres, increasing capacity for some services, and building additional theatre space.

“Anyone waiting for hospital treatment can find advice and support on the Greater Manchester ‘While You Wait’ website, which includes lots of information about ways people can manage their health and conditions.”

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