Western Health Trust issues apology to local families over delays

THE Western Health Trust has apologised to local parents and their children who are having to endure long waits for treatment with paediatric waiting times in the North at an ‘all-time high’.

Dr Ray Nethercott, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, described the situation as a ‘catastrophe for children’, while local GP and Fermanagh and Omagh District Councillor, Jo Deehan said, “It is exceptionally worrying; I know a lot of children that have been stuck on waiting lists for a very long time.”

The Western Trust has this week acknowledged the depth of the crisis, but said they are ‘pleased’ to be bucking this troubling trend, meeting their first consultant outpatient appointment targets for both ‘urgent’ and ‘routine’ paediatric patients.

However, despite their ability to satisfy some of their statistical goals, a number of figures relating to our local health authority’s paediatric waiting lists are likely to give local parents more cause for concern than comfort.

The average wait for a ‘routine’ paediatric outpatient procedure in the Western Trust 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, a Trust spokesperson said, “We are pleased that the Western Trust meets the targets for first consultant outpatient appointments for both urgent and routine paediatric patients. This performance is due to our hard-working staff to ensure that children and young people in the Western Trust are seen in a timely manner.”

‘STRIVING TO IMPROVE’

The spokesperson continued, “The Trust is continuously striving to improve the waiting times for inpatient and day case procedures for children and young people, and we apologise to our patients and families who are waiting longer than we would like for treatment.

“The Trust facilitates paediatric inpatient and day case surgery at both Altnagelvin and South West Acute Hospitals, maximising our full theatre capacity.

“SWAH also facilitates paediatric general surgery for regional waiting lists, working with our HSC Trust colleagues to ensure that children across the region will receive their surgery as quickly as possible.”

Comparing the Western Trust figures with other areas in the North, the average urgent paediatric outpatient waiting time in the Belfast Trust is five weeks, while a routine wait is about 14 weeks.

In the South Eastern Trust, urgent paediatric outpatients are normally treated within six weeks, whereas children and young people on the routine list are generally seen within 13 weeks.

In the Northern Trust, the average urgent paediatric outpatient waiting time is four weeks.

Meanwhile, their peers on the routine list wait an average of 21 weeks.

The Northern Trust also has red flag provision, which has an average waiting time of three weeks.

When it comes to paediatric inpatient and day care waiting times, however, the Western Trust performs relatively well, with waiting times for an urgent referral averaging ten weeks, the longest current wait being 19 weeks, while those listed as routine referrals usually experience a 25-week wait.

In Belfast, the average urgent inpatient wait is a shocking 58 weeks, while in the South Eastern Trust it is usually 19 weeks.

Astonishingly, routine paediatric inpatients in the South Eastern Trust have to wait an average of 84 weeks before they are treated.

‘Unacceptable’

In Belfast, most children and young people with a routine inpatient referral must undergo a 70-week wait.

The Department of Health (DoH) have labelled children’s waiting lists as ‘unacceptable’.

“This report demonstrates that we must do everything we can to improve outcomes for children and young people. We recognise the pandemic and ongoing resource constraints have exacerbated existing pressures on children’s services and have adversely impacted children’s health and wellbeing.

“The Child Health Partnership, and the recently established Programme Board, are currently working to rebuild and reconfigure services following the pandemic.

“Tackling lengthy waiting times is a key priority. It is, undoubtedly a long-term issue that requires sustainable and recurrent funding, workforce development and system wide transformation.

“Our waiting lists are unacceptable, and the need to transform services on a sustainable basis is paramount. These figures show the scale of the waiting list crisis and demonstrate the need for multi-year funding.”