A Norfolk hospital boss said they will remain cautious and fully focused as staff look to deal with the significant backlog of patients waiting for treatment as a result of the pandemic.

Caroline Shaw CBE, chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, said in a report to the board of directors that 14,365 patients were on its waiting list for treatment at the end of January, with more than 5,300 waiting more than 18 weeks.

The chief executive said the trust had "moved beyond the peak" which reached 220 Covid positive patients, with the number of patients falling to 78 as of February 23.

The hospital has treated 1,627 patients since the start of the pandemic, of which 949 people have been discharged and 473 have died. One hundred and forty-eight deaths were recorded in January.

The hospital has vaccinated more than 19,000 patients and healthcare workers since launching as a vaccination hub at the end of December.

Mrs Shaw said: "Despite these positive signs and the consistent downward trend of Covid-19 patients we remain cautious and fully focused as we develop our recovery and reset plans, which include returning to separate medical and surgical wards again and reopening our Sandringham Unit as our protected green (elective) surgical and treatment unit as soon as possible.

"This will significantly help as we address the substantial backlog of elective activity that has built up during Covid-19, and which we will be seeking to address for our patients as quickly as we can, consistent with the wider NHS."

The trust's 18-week referral to treatment performance in January 2021 was 62.81pc, with the number of patients waiting more than 18-weeks standing at 5,343.

For cancer waiting times, the trust's performance reduced from 77.86pc in November to 65.66pc in December, against the 62-day cancer target of 85pc.

In January, 72.45pc of patients overall were seen within four hours, in comparison to 67.10pc in December

Staff sickness also fell from more than 12pc on January 21 when 37 members of staff were on medical suspension and 126 were on medical suspension for 10 days. A further 91 staff were on sick leave with Covid-19 related sickness. That has now fallen to 8.37pc.