MSP EDWARD MOUNTAIN: Highlanders to face treatment waits
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I welcome the latest update from NHS Highland that the National Treatment Centre in Inverness is currently on course to be handed over by the contractor on 22 September 2022.
This is the good news that many patients need to know. It is encouraging to also learn that treatments at the facility could begin before the end of this year, subject to the recruitment of 260 staff.
I have always supported the creation of this world-class facility since it was first announced in 2016. It is a resource that promises to enhance care in our region and will begin to reduce long waiting lists for patients.
While the opening of the National Treatment Centre will be a huge bonus for the Highlands, realistic expectations of what this facility can achieve need to be clearly set out.
In recent months, I have been in close contact with NHS Highland to learn more about how this facility will be employed and which patients are likely to benefit first. As ever it is never as simple as the headline announcements we are given.
While the vast majority of ophthalmic treatments will be delivered at the new facility, this is not the case when it comes to orthopaedics. Only simple and routine orthopaedic operations will be completed at the National Treatment Centre; Highland patients with more complex needs (often as a result of long treatment delays) will still need to be treated at Raigmore.
The key question then, is how will this impact the current waiting list?
As it stands, there are around 2,700 people in the Highlands waiting for orthopaedic treatment. Over a third of those will require complex treatment, which cannot be delivered at the National Treatment Centre.
I am deeply concerned that this reality has yet to be communicated clearly enough to patients across the Highlands.
What also needs to be stated clearly is that the National Treatment Centre is what it says on the tin – it is a national rather than just a local resource.
That means Highlanders who have waited patiently for treatment and who have seen their condition deteriorate from simple to complex, will have to accept that patients from across Scotland will be treated at the new facility long before Highlanders finally undergo treatment at Raigmore.
This may come as a shock to some and that is why I am encouraging NHS Highland to be open and transparent with patients about what they should expect. Failure to do so could cause huge disappointment.
I believe every patient has a right to know if they sit within the group that could be treated at National Treatment Centre or at Raigmore Hospital, and what knock-on impact this will have on their waiting time. Indeed, all patients need to know approximately when they can expect to receive treatment and where.
Patients have waited long enough for this new facility to arrive, it is time for them to know what it will mean for their treatment path - surely they have that right.
