Missed targets leave grandmother in agonising pain
BY VIVIENNE AITKEN Health Editor
A GRANDMOTHER kept on the waiting list for a hip replacement operation for nine months is now too ill to undergo surgery.
Lillian McKinnon is in such pain from her left hip that she can’t sleep and struggles to use the toilet.
The 64-year-old was referred for a hip replacement at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in October 2018 but didn’t get to see a surgeon until last March.
There is an 18-week target from referral to treatment beginning but that had already run out before she even saw the surgeon.
When the consultant finally saw her, he told her he’d operate on her as soon as possible. A 12-week guarantee from the decision to treat should have meant an operation by June at the latest. But she wasn’t even given her pre-op appointment until August.
In December, she was told she needed another pre-op because they are only valid for three months. At that assessment, medics found Lillian was anaemic, which meant the operation had to be cancelled.
She has now learnt that she has been removed from the waiting list until her anaemia is under control.
She said: “If I’d got my operation in the time they were supposed to do it, I wouldn’t be in this situation.
“I have always been an active person – now I can hardly move because of the pain.”
An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokeswoman said: “We are sorry for the length of time this patient has waited for surgery and we have contacted her to discuss her care.
“Orthopaedic waiting times currently represent a significant challenge and we are working with Calum Campbell, turnaround director, on a plan to improve waiting times and increase capacity.”