EXCLUSIVE: Leading doctors fear delays on operations for next 3-5 years
MFR News can reveal long delays for operations could last up to five years, as the NHS deals with the impact of the pandemic.
Last updated 20th May 2021
Leading doctors fear patients in Scotland will be facing long waits for operations for the next three to five years, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Over half of the 340,000 patients looking to be admitted into hospital have being waiting longer than the 12 week legal guarantee, that's thought to be around 170,000 people.
Speaking to MFR News, Professor Michael Griffin is from the The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh s calling for reforms to the health service are needed, in the event of a future pandemic.
"The health service can't go back to the way it was, we have to do things differently. We have to, for instance, procedures like ultrasound scans, CT scans, blood investigations, all of those tests should be done in what we call a diagnostic hub." he said.
"Waiting lists are so long, for us to be able to put into place the diagnostic hubs, the elective surgical centres. no matter how quickly we can do that we are still going to face some years of significant waits for patients."
Among the estimated 170,000 people in Scotland awaiting surgery, was mum of five Nybee Snaddon from Dundee who feared she'd miss out on a potentially life-saving procedure on her bowel.
Last week NHS Tayside told her it couldn't admit her for treatment within the 12 week waiting time guarantee.
We raised her concerns with the health board alongside her local MSP Joe Fitzpatrick, who submitted a letter on behalf of Nybee.
She's now in hospital waiting to be operated on.
"Even though I was leaving messages with the health board I really got to the point I thought unless a miracle, divine intervention kicked in - that would be it, unless I was on my death bed," she said.
"My voice wasn't enough but everyone else's was. You have done more in three weeks than anyone has done in three months."
Some will be more critical than others. In Nybee's case if her bowel shuts down, she would die.
Professor Griffin claimed ring-fenced beds and diagnostic hubs are the key to ensuring elective surgery is not halted again. He fears history risks repeating itself, with more delays on diagnostics and vital surgery, if another virus comes our way.
"That cannot happen" he said, "so we have to redesign to recover so that never happens again."
"There needs to be these diagnostic hubs that are completley seperate from the acute hot and heavy hospital that we have become so used to looking at over the last 15 months where all the COVID-19 patients are" he said,
He explained how the centres would work seperatley from hospitals. "Form these diagnostic hubs where patients can just walk in, walk out and they get their diagnostic tests done so at least they know and the doctors know what's the matter with them"
"We need to ring fence areas where there is no acute hospital admissions, because where there is no acute hospital admissions there is likley to be COVID-19, or whatever other virus comes along in the future."
Professor Griffin remained hopeful that there is still time to combat the long waiting periods that thousands of patients, like Nybee, are facing.
"The estimates would be between 3 and 5 years, but if we're being proactive, and I have faith that the right people are in the right places to make these decisons and we;'re advising and helping with that -- we can get these elective surgical sites up and running."