‘When will I get my hip op?’ asks Nairn woman who has been waiting for more than 18 months
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A Nairn woman wants to know when she might have her long-awaited hip operation after waiting for more than 18 months for treatment.
Lynn Alexander (55) said she has been waiting for a date for her operation in spite of being told she would be treated in less than a year – and even had her pre-operation health check in January last year.
Ms Alexander said while she appreciated the efforts that have gone into treating people with Covid, people were still struggling with other conditions. She pleaded with NHS Highland to “get back to normal” and treat people like herself who were desperate for elective surgery.
She said: “There are thousands of us who can’t do anything because we are waiting for surgery.
“I was assessed for an operation back in October 2019 and I went for a pre-operation appointment in January 2020.
“Since then I have heard nothing about the date for my operation.
“When I have contacted the hospital I have been told that there are no elective operations going on at the moment.”
Ms Alexander continued: “What really gets to me is that there are fewer cases of Covid in the Highlands than in most parts of the UK, and our operations have still been cancelled.
“I have written to my MSP, but I am still no further forward. Thankfully I live in sheltered housing, but even so – it is time to get back to normal with operations.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “Throughout the pandemic we have had to reconfigure services to manage Covid–19 cases and run hospitals differently in order to minimise the risk of Covid–19 across sites in Highland and Argyll and Bute.
“We continue to prioritise cancer treatment as well as emergency and trauma surgery.
“A programme for all elective care, including orthopaedic surgery, will be progressed as soon as possible.
“The timing of this will be dependent on a number of factors, including the prevalence of Covid–19 in communities and hospitals across NHS Highland.“
To read more about NHS Highland click here.
