Islander Michael Cunningham said that since being given an urgent referral to Salford Royal Hospital in late October last year, six telephone consultations had been either cancelled or, in one case, ignored, and he had felt abandoned by HSC.
He said that in early June he had been given a phone appointment for early July. This was later cancelled and pushed out until mid-August. He was then contacted by HSC’s travel unit to make plans for a visit to Salford this week, which he knew nothing about. ‘Ironically it is the first date at which I could not attend because of a very important prior arrangement which I could not miss,’ said Mr Cunningham, who was waiting for another appointment to be confirmed. He said that he had also heard directly HSC president George Oswald, who apologised for the delays.
During June’s States meeting, Deputy Oswald told States members that 64% of island residents attending outpatient appointments did so within the contractual waiting time of between 24 hours and eight weeks, depending on the severity of the complaint.
Since February this year, average waiting times had been around eight weeks, with the longest waits for specialist nursing services within HSC services, but with increased demand across all specialties.
‘Efforts continue to stabilise waiting lists and reduce them where possible,’ he said.
But he accepted that without additional physical and clinical capacity, it would be ‘challenging’ to return to the target waiting times.
HSC director of operations Dermot Mullin said that the longest waiting times were due to high demand. The specialties affected include ophthalmology, gastroenterology and specialist nursing services. He echoed Deputy Oswald’s comment that additional resources were needed to address the challenge.
‘Efforts continue to stabilise waiting lists and reduce them where possible,’ he said.
‘But demand is rising across almost all specialties, driven by an ageing population, more complex long‑term conditions and advances in medical treatment.’
He said that despite what Mr Cunningham felt, patients referred to the NHS are not ‘abandoned’.
‘NHS waiting times can be longer than many islanders expect.’ he said.
The NHS standard waiting time for consultant-led treatment is 18 weeks.
‘Our off-island services team monitors referrals, chases them at the appropriate points and escalates concerns where clinically necessary.’
But a patient whose conditions worsens would need to contact their referring doctor who could request a review of the patient’s priority by the NHS.
‘Cancer referrals are chased after two weeks, and all other referrals are chased at 16 weeks, ahead of the NHS’s own 18‑week guidance,’ said Mr Mullin.
‘But ultimately, NHS hospitals must prioritise all patients based on clinical need.’