Call for urgent action to deal with ‘disastrous’ children’s waiting lists

A PROMINENT member of Omagh’s medical community has said it will take ‘time, money and very strategic planning’ to undo the damage that has been done to children’s health care in recent years.

“It will be a long process to get pediatrics up to the standard where it needs to be, so we better start now,” said Dr Jo Deehan, speaking with the UlsterHerald earlier this week.

Dr Deehan was speaking after a recent report revealed that, between June 2016 and June 2023, there was a massive 172.6 per-cent rise in the number of children and young people in the North waiting for a first outpatient appointment, with the number of children on waiting lists rising from 8,170, to 22,272.

Statistics released by the Western Health Trust show that the average wait for a ‘routine’ paediatric outpatient procedure locally is 33 weeks, while there is a 23-week forecast for those categorised as ‘urgent’.

Of the 114 paediatric patients currently waiting for an outpatient surgery in the Western Trust, at least one has been waiting for 52 weeks.

Responding to these figures, Dr Deehan explained the importance of expediting children and young people’s referrals as much as possible, before backing the recommendations made by Dr Ray Nethercott in the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s recent report.

‘DISASTROUS’

The Strule Medical Practice GP, who is also a longstanding Fermanagh and Omagh District Councillor, said, “It is imperative that action is taken to reduce these waiting times as quickly and effectively as possible.

“Nobody should have to put up with these disastrous waiting times, least of all, minors.

“Because children and adolescents are developing at such a fast rate, time really is of the essence.

“The quicker they can be treated, the better chance they have of a healthy future.”

In addition to the long-term medical benefits of avoiding lengthy delays for the children and young people concerned, Dr Deehan noted the spillover impact on parents’ mental health.

“More than is the case in virtually any other corner of our health system, problems with pediatric care often cause serious indirect harm.

“The amount of parental anxiety that has been produced by these long waiting lists is untold, but you can be sure that it’s massive.”

Despite her unswerving criticism of the current waiting list crisis, Dr Deehan was eager to exempt the people who work in paediatric care from bearing the responsibility for its present cataclysmic condition.

“I know a lot of children that have been stuck on waiting lists for a very long time, but it is not the fault of the medical professionals that are trying to care for them.

“This is a systemic problem; one that boils down to the demand being far beyond what our current staff and facilities have the ability to provide for.”

Putting forth an approach that she hopes might possess the capacity to correct some of the issues crippling paediatric care, Dr Deehan endorsed the three recommendations posited by Dr Ray Nethercott.

“I believe a ‘whole child’ approach should be taken, as Mr Nethercott suggested, and I also agree, that we need stronger workforce planning.

“This should include a bespoke integrated whole child health workforce strategy, as well as better data collection, which, at the moment, presents a barrier to understanding need and appropriate response.

“There is a lot can go wrong, so we need to consider any solution very carefully, but resource allocation and a very strategic approach to the whole health care system is paramount.”