Patients on the waiting list at University Hospital, Coventry or the Hospital of St Cross, Rugby are being contacted via text message or postal letter as part of our ongoing work to reduce the delays caused by the pandemic.

A great deal of progress has already been made to reduce the waiting list, with UHCW becoming the first teaching Trust in the country to eliminate 104 week waits for elective care.

To help us to continue to deliver the highest levels of support, we are now contacting all applicable patients to see whether their condition has changed and reviewing any potential impact their wait time may have had.

Patients will be sent a link to a secure portal via text message. Simply enter the pin number shared with you and your date of birth so that you can log in and complete a short survey.

If we do not have a contact number for you on our system, a postal letter and prepaid return envelope will be sent to you. In responding and completing this survey you will help us to further reduce waiting times for our patients.

We would like to assure you that:

• Our communication will only ever ask questions relating to your care
• We will never ask for bank details or reference to money or payment
• Our message will include a unique pin and we will ask you to input your date of birth only to log in
• If you do not respond to the text message, we will write to you asking for completion of the paper survey

Professor Kiran Patel, Chief Medical Officer at UHCW NHS Trust, said: “We are determined to do everything we can to treat patients as quickly as possible and to further reduce waiting times.

“As well as ensuring our waiting lists are up to date, this initiative offers an ideal opportunity to engage with the NHS and raise any concerns you may have about your condition.

“If you receive a message, please by assured that this is from the Trust and complete the survey at the earliest opportunity.

“Our patients have been – and continue to be – incredibly understanding and we would like to thank everyone once again for their ongoing patience.”