NHS Highland waiting lists get longer for treatment

The figures reveal patients “without clinical urgency” are waiting more than four times the routine 12-week period for the surgery.

A health board spokeswoman said the number was “higher than we would all want” but insisted all patients are clinically prioritised and urgent cases are seen much sooner.

However, Edward Mountain, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said waiting times were a massive issue for people living in this area and it was time Scotland’s Health Secretary Jeane Freeman got a grip of the issue.

Shadow heath minister, north Labour MSP David Stewart, said measures had to be put in place to reduce the delay.

The Scottish Government insisted the health secretary had made it clear that excessively long waiting times were unacceptable. Health board figures show 124 patients are waiting for a tonsillectomy.

A health board statement said the waiting time was “a result of a number of factors including a lack of theatre capacity during the necessary upgrade works within our theatre environment and a shortage of consultants.”

It expected “a significant reduction in the number of patients waiting more than 12 weeks, thanks to the £3.2 million of extra funding given to NHS Highland in May”.

To add to the board’s woes other data, obtained by Mr Mountain under Freedom of Information legislation, shows waiting lists for a raft of other treatments in Highland increasing dramatically in the last four years.

He sought comparisons for July in ophthalmology, orthopaedic, rheumatology and urology.

Those waiting for eye treatment suffered the biggest delays but rheumatology and urology delays also lengthened.

Mr Mountain said: “We’re seeing a substantive increase in ophthalmology and orthopaedic appointment times, rising up to 38 weeks for an orthopaedic appointment with a board overspending by £50 million last year and likely to spend in excess of £25 million this year. It isn’t good enough.”

A board spokeswoman said: “We recognise some patients wait longer than we’d wish. The figures need to be considered in conjunction with the length of time patients are waiting for an outpatient appointment.

“We’ve made significant progress in reducing the length of time patients wait for a first appointment which provides a diagnosis. This allows clinicians to prioritise theatre time.

“We’ve reduced the number of outpatients waiting over 12 weeks from 7348 in August 2016 to 5144 in August 2017, to 2167 at the beginning of August 2018 for all specialities across NHS Highland.

“For orthopaedics, we have a theatre on site providing additional operating capacity. We’ve recruited two additional consultants and anaesthetists with supporting theatre team to maximise efficiency of this capacity.

“In ophthalmology, we’ve recently invested in expanding the outpatient clinic area at Raigmore.

“With additional equipment and successfully recruiting to two vacant consultant posts this has enabled us to improve flow and increase outpatient capacity.

“In urology, we’ve recruited additional nurse specialists who are running their own clinics increasing our capacity. More nurses are in training in Highland to allow them to do this too.”