The agony of hundred procedures cancelled every day
MORE than 100 patients a day see their life-enhancing hospital procedures called off, due to chaos in the health service.
They include many left to wait for months, and even years, for operations to end chronic back and hip pain, for cataract removals plus simple procedures such as endoscopies and dental treatment.
An average of 3,400 elective procedures are cancelled every month, as a record 686,997 people languish on some form of waiting list, it has emerged.
And last night Fianna Fáil’s health spokesman Billy Kelleher said the data shows how our health service is ‘in a state of collapse’ – and he called for more funding to clear the ‘appalling’ waiting list backlog.
The TD also spoke of the shocking human stories behind those figures when he told of a woman in his constituency ‘who had to put up handrails to drag herself around the house because she was awaiting a hip operation’.
In a recent Dáil response, Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed that about 3,400 elective procedures a month – or 113 a day – are cancelled.
The revelation was based on data provided by the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which
‘A handrail to drag herself around’
gets its data from reports produced by hospitals.
Separate figures, released by the HSE at the start of this year, revealed that a total of 37,491 operations and procedures were cancelled last year, which represented an increase of 12,902 on the previous year.
The minister said the cancellation of elective procedures happens for a number of exceptional reasons, including because a bed or the clinical team are not available or because the patient may not be fit for surgery at the time.
In his Dáil reply, he said: ‘Maintaining scheduled care access for all patients and managing emergency demand at times is challenging, however all efforts are made to limit cancellations particularly for clinically urgent procedures.
He added: ‘Over recent years activity in acute hospitals has increased, with the total number of discharges of inpatients and day cases rising around 34% between 2006 and 2015.’
However, last night Mr Kelleher branded the number of people waiting for treatment as ‘appalling’ and said it demonstrated that the health service is in a state of collapse.
He told the Mail: ‘It is extraordinary that we deal with the emergency overcrowding situation by cancelling elective operations elsewhere in the health system.
‘Clearly, this is not a sustainable solution to the capacity issues in our emergency departments.
‘There is an agreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and the NTPF [National Treatment Purchase Fund] is part of that. We are insisting that it’s funded to the tune of €55million next year so it can increase the capacity of elective surgeries across the system.’
He added: ‘I’ve had patients that have been waiting an inordinate period for cataract operations. I had a woman in my constituency who had to put up handrails to drag herself around the house because she was awaiting a hip operation. ‘It’s just appalling’ he added. Last night one GP based in Dublin said he has now started to refer patients for treatment in other jurisdictions under the HSE’s cross-border directive initiative.
This entitles public patients to avail of healthcare in another EU member state under a directive, provided they meet the criteria set down by the HSE.
Dr Andrew Jordan, who works in clinics in Terenure and Tallaght, said: ‘The EU cross-border directive categorically states that any EU citizen is entitled to access care in any member state that they’re entitled to in their country of origin.’
Dr Jordan, who is also chairman of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) added: ‘They don’t actually have to be on a waiting list at all.’
Some 686,997 people were on some form of hospital waiting list in July, according to figures published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund. The data amounted to an increase of 9,500 from the previous month.
The highest figures were recorded in Galway University Hospital, where 50,500 were awaiting treatment – 38,501 of whom were outpatients.
Overall some 493,870 people were waiting to be seen by a hospital consultant for the first time.
‘Clearly, this is not a sustainable solution’