More than 10,000 patients are waiting for operations in Oxfordshire and hospital staff are battling to cut numbers to meet Government targets, writes Victoria Owen.

Oxfordshire Health Authority needs to reduce the queue for treatment by at least 684 within the next two months.

Figures for the end of December showed that 10,587 patients were waiting to go in to hospital six per cent higher than the end-of-financial-year targets set by ministers.

Most of the problem is caused by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which oversees the John Radcliffe, Churchill and Radcliffe Infirmary and The Horton, Banbury.

Health authority finance director Anna Anderson said hospital staff had until the end of March to reduce the lists.

The situation has been compounded by bed shortages, which have resulted in 1,466 cancelled operations in the last four months.

As a result, many patients are still on the waiting list and 408 people had not been given new appointments within the 28-day deadline specified in the Patient's Charter.

Health authority spokesman Steve Argent said there were three reasons for the lengthy waiting list.

He said: "Oxfordshire is a specialist centre with far more complex cases to deal with than other general hospitals.

"There is a shortage of nurses and there is a lack of physical space at the John Radcliffe the way it is arranged is not conducive to the number of beds we need.

"Where it is possible, we are transferring patients to other Oxford sites. We are also increasing the day case surgery load and re-arranging the space at the JR."