Ulster Unionist Councillor David Taylor has described as “very worrying” figures provided in relation to the Southern Health & Social Care Trust waiting lists which show a significant increase in the number of patients waiting longer than 12 months for non urgent procedures and surgeries at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry and Craigavon Area Hospital.
The figures, which were provided to Mr Taylor after a Freedom of Information Request, outline that in June 2016 just 2 patients were waiting for non urgent procedures and surgeries at Daisy Hill Hospital, however, by June 2018 this number had risen to 180 patients.
Mr Taylor says the figures for Craigavon Area Hospital show that in June 2016, 298 patients were on the waiting list, though by June 2018 the number had risen significantly to 1,328 patients.
Describing the figures as “very worrying”, the UUP councillor said that despite the procedures being officially categorised as non-urgent or routine, “for many of the patients involved the discomfort they have been experiencing for over 12 months now is certainly not routine.”
“Just because the problem might not be life-threatening, it doesn’t mean people should be allowed to linger in pain at home for over a year,” added Mr Taylor who said the figures are “symptomatic of the unprecedented situation the health service here is in.”
“Without a Minister in place to take and implement health decisions, our waiting lists are only getting worse with every passing month,” he said, calling for the British government “to step in and appoint a direct rule Health Minister to end the current waiting times crisis.”
Responding to Mr Taylor’s concerns, a Trust spokesman expressed regret over the waiting times being experienced by patients and said the growing older population and the increasing number of patients attending emergency departments requiring admission to a ward has reduced the capacity to carry out planned surgeries for patients on the waiting list.
“Demand for hospital services across Northern Ireland continues to grow beyond the capacity that is currently available,” added the statement which cited the shortage of medical and nursing staff, locally and nationally, as also impacting “significantly on our ability to sustain and reduce the number of patients on the waiting list.”
“We continue to prioritise and treat patients by the urgency of their illness in line with extant guidance.
The process of transforming the way that services are delivered is already underway. The Department of Health recently announced that £30 million from the £100 million health and social care transformation funding for 2018/19 will be targeted at waiting times in working towards achieving stabilisation of current hospital waiting lists.”