MSG considers more weekend surgeries to clear backlog
Extra weekend operating sessions are being considered as a way to bring down orthopaedic waiting times, though staffing pressures have so far prevented them from going ahead.
The Medical Specialist Group said it had been working with the Health & Social Care Committee to see more patients.
‘We’ve been working with HSC to see whether we could run more extra operating lists at the weekend to help bring down the waiting times for orthopaedic patients,’ an MSG spokeswoman said.
‘This involves additional work from a small team of nurses and physiotherapists who are already working very hard with regular weekend work rotas. We need to avoid burning them out.’
Nevertheless, she said the MSG would ‘continue to explore’ weekend surgery being done ‘in a sustainable way’.
Following the Covid pandemic, a lack of beds was frequently cited as a key reason for waiting lists increasing and it was hoped that the opening of the de Havilland unit in October 2022 would solve this problem. The MSG confirmed that the new unit had brought the number of cancellations down and that ‘we have never done more major joint replacements than we have in the last year’.
However, increased demand has meant the additional work has not been enough to reduce the orthopaedic waiting list, which has instead increased from 805 in September 2022 to 885 13 months later.
Alison Castle, who had hip operations cancelled six times over three-and-a-half years, said she understood there had been valid reasons for the delays but felt it was ‘a shame that it’s not possible to do surgeries on Saturdays’.
Health & Social Care president Al Brouard confirmed that the de Havilland unit had enabled 463 procedures, including hip, knee and shoulder replacements.
‘The fact that the waiting list continues to rise shows that demand is ever increasing in this area of medicine,’ he said.
‘Although the numbers are increasing, the goal is to reduce length of time a patient is waiting. We cannot control demand and we do not have infinite financial, staff, ward or theatre resources, but we have created additional capacity which has helped stem the tide by keeping the waiting list relatively static.’
He said his committee was conscious of the consequences of delay for individuals.
‘It is hoped that further initiatives will come to fruition in 2024,’ he said.
