THE North of Irelan’s health service is in a deep crisis with children and cancer survivors among those languishing on hospital waiting lists, a senior medic has said.
Mark Taylor, director of the Royal College of Surgeons in the North, said one in four people here is now waiting for a hospital appointment.
He added that more than 4,000 red flag procedures have been cancelled during the pandemic.
However, the surgeon said politicians have the opportunity to take advantage of Covid-19 to put in place a range of changes that will help address our waiting list shame.
And he said he is optimistic that the deteriorating situation can be resolved in less than the 10 years the Health Minister has predicted it will take to address the crisis.
Mr Taylor was speaking as the Royal College of Surgeons published a new 10-step action plan to kickstart the post-pandemic recovery of local surgical services.
He said: “Northern Ireland already faced a monumental task on waiting times before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“The situation has only worsened over the last year and our health service is in deep crisis with half of patients waiting more than a year for their treatment.
“When you add in those patients waiting for their first consultant appointment, one in four people in Northern Ireland is on a waiting list.
“These patients will be waiting in pain and uncertainty, some of them unable to work or go about day-to-day life.
“They will be waiting for treatments ranging from hip and knee replacements to post-mastectomy breast reconstructions, and children’s surgeries such as putting in vents for ear glue.”
Mr Taylor said Stormont’s politicians “are now faced with a choice” of continuing to allow the situation to “spiral out of control” or step up and make difficult choices to overhaul services.
He continued: “We must ensure that no matter where a patient lives in Northern Ireland they can expect the highest quality of surgical care.
“Surgeons have already demonstrated great flexibility in adapting to the challenges of Covid-19 and the limitations placed on capacity.
“Protected surgical beds, Covid-light sites, a strong surgical team and surgical hubs are key parts to any meaningful solution.
“The Royal College of Surgeons stands ready to work with all stakeholders in delivering a surgical service fit for the 21st century.”
In a statement the health minister said the report highlighted the need for greater investment.
“Sustained additional funding is not the answer by itself – but we cannot start fixing waiting lists without it,” Robin Swann said.
“As minister I have tasked the system to be innovative, to be ambitious and to get as many services fully back online as quickly as possible.
“Already we are now breaking down Trust and administrative barriers at a far greater scale than ever before.
Mr Swann said clinicians and patients were now travelling to “better utilise capacity”.
“The new regional day procedure centre at the Lagan Valley Hospital is a clear illustration of that.
“Over the next few weeks I will also be publishing the cancer recovery plan for Northern Ireland, an elective care framework and the urgent and emergency care review.
“These reports will detail both the immediate and longer term actions that are needed to bring down our waiting times. We must start putting this right. It is a long-term task however and it needs long-term, recurrent funding. ”
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