Strabane pensioner in need of new hips calls for action

A STRABANE pensioner who needs two hip replacement operations has called on politicians here to stop arguing and get down to work.

Patricia Stewart, aged 75, is just one of thousands of local people who are currently languishing on waiting lists here. A total of 3,000 people in the Western Trust area are currently waiting an average of two years for joint replacement surgery.

Patricia, from Knockavoe, says her pains are gradually getting worse to the extent that she is not able to be as active as she once was. It’s five years since she was first identified as needing her hip replaced, but she was only admitted on to the waiting list in 2019.

Her operation was then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the Chronicle, Patricia called on politicians to start prioritising health above sectarian issues that make little difference to people’s lives.

“Instead of arguing over languages and other things it’s time our politicians got down to work, get the hospitals back up and running and the people in and out of operations. We just want peace of mind because life is short and getting shorter the way things are.

“My right hip has needed to be done for more than two years now. But then when I went and got X-rayed they saw that the left hip was just as bad and it needs to be sorted as well,” she said.

“The months have just slipped in so quickly with the pandemic. The whole thing is having a terrible impact because the pain is there all the time, day and night. You try and rest, but the pain is still there.

“Doctors told me to do exercises, but it’s got to the stage it’s too sore to do them. It’s just a waiting game and the problem is that I simply don’t know how long that wait is going to be.

“Needles terrify me, but I’m willing to go through that to get the hip done, but I’ve had no word whatsoever. My age is against me, but it seems that the politicians have just given up on the older people.”

West Tyrone MLA, Daniel McCrossan, has called for urgent action to address cases, including Patricia Stewart’s and tackle the waiting lists.

“Waiting lists for medical treatment across the North are a disgrace. As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic there needs to be a strategic plan devised to clear these waiting lists and significant investment in our health service to ensure that nobody has to wait such a long time for treatment in future and we never reach this level of crisis again.

“Every week, my office deals with patients who can’t get seen. They are in pain, and many have been waiting years for treatment.

“Anyone developing a joint problem that requires surgery in our area will now go to the back of a 3,000 long queue with a guaranteed wait of years.

“That isn’t the standard of healthcare we should be delivering to our citizens,” he said.

“We need to get out of this loop. The Department for Health, the Department for Finance and the British government need to work together to find the funding we need so that everyone in the North can access treatment in a timely manner.”