GPs could be asked to restrict the number of patients referred to hospital under a plan to cut waiting lists.

The move is part of a series of measures put together by bosses at Northallerton's Friarage Hospital, in the face of a dramatic rise in the number of people waiting more than 12 months for surgery.

The proposal aims to introduce an agreement between consultants and GPs over the number of patients who can be seen in a 12-month period.

Friarage operations director Steve Spoerry said the move aimed to tackle delays in treatment, particularly among patients waiting for orthopaedic operations, who account for the majority of those waiting more than 12 months.

He said: "We're talking with GPs about agreements over the number of patients they refer to us.

"This is something that happens in other parts of the country where GPs and surgeons agree on the referral criteria, such as losing a certain amount of mobility, and the surgeons guarantee to treat a certain number of patients.

"The doctors agree how to prioritise patients, and they also have to agree that enough patients are being seen."

The number of patients waiting for more than 12 months has risen from zero in March to 109, with 102 of those from the North Yorkshire Health Authority area.

Mr Spoerry said work to create two new operating theatres had meant existing theatres had been temporarily out of action.

And a review of urology patients while the service switched from being provided from York to Middlesbrough had also caused delays.

But Mr Spoerry said the biggest factor was the backlog in orthopaedic operations, particularly patients having artificial joints replaced.

He said: "Where people have had a new hip or knee put in, after time it wears out, and the operation to put another one in is more complicated than the original one.

"We are talking with GPs about stopping one consultant doing other operations so he can concentrate on these joint revisions to catch up with the backlog."

He said the hospital would also be running extra operating lists, carrying out surgery in the evenings and weekends to cut waiting lists