New data on NHS Highland’s Orthopaedic Wait List is 'staggering and unprecedented' says Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain – he claims that patients in Inverness and the rest of the region are suffering with agonising waits for treatment
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Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain has described the latest NHS Highland waiting list figure as “staggering and unprecedented”.
The new statistics from Public Health Scotland show that there continues to be more than 3000 patients on the waiting list for orthopaedic treatment in the Highlands.
The figures also show that 523 orthopaedic inpatients had been waiting for more than two years for treatment at the end of June 2022 – a reduction of 89 compared to the end of March 2022.
The MSP has said that Highland patients suffering with agonising waits for treatment will be frustrated given that NHS England’s recovery plan virtually eliminated long waits for treatment this summer.
With delivery of the National Treatment Centre Inverness pushed back to April 2023, he is pressing the Scottish Government to ensure there are no more slippages to the construction timeline.
He said: “The number of patients on the waiting list for orthopaedics keeps going up and up and up every quarter. To have over 3,000 on the waiting list is both staggering and unprecedented.
“It is also clear from these figures that there is a drive to reduce the number of patients waiting more than two years for treatment, but there are still over 500 patients experiencing an agonisingly long wait.
“That will be hugely frustrating and disappointing for many patients, especially when they can see that this summer the NHS in England achieved its first milestone of virtually eliminating the longest waits for treatment.
“NHS Highland has not been helped by the long delays impacting the completion of the National Treatment Centre, which is due to open in April 2023. How many Highland patients could have been treated if this facility had opened in August 2021 as originally planned.
“I am pressing the Scottish Government to ensure there are no more slippages in the delivery of the National Treatment Centre. Patients need this facility now more than ever.”
NHS Highland has been approached for a comment.
