Surgery waiting lists: “when will this be considered a crisis?”

Thursday 17 June 2021

Anger and frustration has been raised over lengthy waiting lists for orthopaedic operations, with patients awaiting surgery feared to be facing paralysis and even death as a result.

Deputy Al Brouard touched on the pressures HSC and its staff are under during his presidential update in the States, suggesting that it’s inevitable some surgeries get delayed.

“HSC is exceptionally busy, and this level of demand is likely to be the new normal for some time,” he said.

He was challenged by Deputy Liam McKenna, who demanded to know when action would be taken to address the issue.

“The waiting list for elective and orthopaedic surgeries is 1,600 and climbing,” he said.

“What figure do we need to get to before this is considered a crisis? There are people in this community facing death. There are people with crumbling spines who haven’t been operated on and are now wheelchair bound.”

Pictured: Deputy Brouard said medical tourism and a growing medicinal cannabis industry could help fund more surgeons.

“The world is in crisis,” said Deputy Brouard, when replying to Deputy McKenna.

“If you look at the figures in the UK, they are about three times higher than our waiting list. It’s not ideal, we didn’t bring covid upon ourselves and it’s something we need to manage.”

Deputy Victoria Oliver cited a conversation she’d had with a woman who’s been waiting more than two years for knee surgery. 

“The two lockdowns haven’t helped,” replied Deputy Brouard, “and the facility for us to get people to the UK for treatment has come with its own challenges.”

“We are trying to look at other ways [of dealing with the problem]; perhaps bringing in another anaesthetist, or looking to see if we can use the theatre more actively.

“We also have people who miss their appointments for surgery, perhaps we could phone them up the day before to see if they’re coming, and if not, free up that space for someone else.”

Pictured: The MSG recently appointed a new Consultant Anesthetist, Dr Stefan Andersson. 

Deputy Brouard argued that it wasn’t simply a case of getting more surgeons into the island, because specialists are expensive. “More resources will need to be put in,” he said.

Despite this, Deputy Brouard maintained that HSC continues to be the most expensive branch of the States of Guernsey. It has a long-term partnership with the Medical Specialist Group for elective surgery. 

“It must be understood that we are the chief takers, the vast majority of the money you give to the States goes to health. Our budget is nearing £200 million; we are taking a third of the States money,” he said.

Additionally, Deputy Brouard conceded that Guernsey’s current plan to relax border restrictions could impact on bed stock in the hospital.

“If we as a society have agreed to open the borders, and we’re going to allow covid partly into Guernsey, there will be some people who need hospitalisation.

“Inevitably, if you have two places taken up in the hospital with covid, there’ll be two people who should’ve been there who won’t be,” he said.

Pictured: During the island’s lockdown in January, all elective operations were postponed, exacerbating the situation further.

The hospital modernisation project is reportedly on track to help address the issue, with phase 1 set to be complete by the end of the year.

Deputy Brouard told the chamber that emergency operations are unaffected. 

“If you’re involved in an RTA road emergency, you’ll be seen by the hospital immediately,” he said. “If someone needs emergency care, that will be provided.”