Waiting lists: Woman waited for three years for telephone consult
- Published
Gillian Mannis says she was told her case was "too complex" and advised to go privately instead
A woman who was treated over the telephone after spending three years on a hospital waiting list has said she's "scared of the way the NHS is going".
Gillian Mannis, who lives in County Down, was an urgent referral to gastroenterology.
Initially she was advised it would be a one-year wait for an appointment.
Eventually, more than three years later, a doctor who she had never met spoke to her over the telephone about her condition.
Ms Mannis, who has a colostomy bag fitted, was told her case was "too complex" and advised to go private instead.
"The waiting lists are getting much longer, and it is a worry when you have a chronic condition and you can't afford private health care - but I definitely think that's the way it's going," she told BBC News NI.
Latest waiting list figures up
Ms Mannis's comments come as the latest hospital waiting list figures have been published.
In November, 428,858 people in Northern Ireland are waiting for a first outpatient appointment - a rise of 3% since the last quarterly results.
Some 83.4% of patients have been waiting more than nine weeks.
Department of Health targets indicate that at least 50% of patients should wait no longer than nine weeks with no patient waiting longer than 52 weeks.
There is a small improvement in those waiting for inpatient and day case admission - that number is down 2.7% to almost 116,000.
One in five people in Northern Ireland are on some form of hospital waiting list.
The Royal College of Surgeons said the growing hospital waiting lists are "increasing" health inequalities in Northern Ireland.
Ms Mannis said a complication in her case is that she is being treated across two health trusts.
She added that she felt frustrated after the doctor's phone call.
"The doctor was lovely but when you are on the phone you can't be examined, they can't see your symptoms - I need to be examined.
"I was told my condition is too complex and all options had been exhausted which I don't understand," she said, adding that the doctor said if she wanted to be seen she "could pay and see a different consultant privately".
'Silence is deafening'
Versus Arthritis, an organisation that provides support and services for those with arthritis, said people who are living with pain become desperate.
Northern Ireland director Sara Graham said: "We know the longer a person waits for treatment, the worse their health becomes, potentially compromising their treatment and certainly their recovery time.
"Waiting for a joint replacement may not be considered life threatening, but people with arthritis tell us they feel life is sometimes not worth living due to their levels of pain and isolation."
Ms Graham said for those coming to the organisation after being put on a waiting list the "silence is deafening".
"As a charity we are calling for urgent investment to bring down waiting list times and action to support people to wait well," she added.
"This can start with the basics of better communication and signposting to support services that charities like Versus Arthritis can offer."
In 2021, then Health Minister Robin Swann announced plans to "banish" long waiting lists by March 2026
In 2021, then health minister Robin Swann announced an ambitious plan to tackle waiting lists.
He said long waiting lists would be "banished" by March 2026 with no-one waiting more than 52 weeks for a first outpatient appointment and inpatient/day cases treatment; or 26 weeks for a diagnostics appointment.
He also said by March 2026, the gap between demand and capacity for elective care would be "eradicated".
In 2023/24, £61.4m was allocated to waiting lists but, in May this year, £34.6m of that was pulled in order to balance the Department of Health's books after what it described as the "severely constrained" 22/23 budget set by the secretary of state.
Objectives unachievable
In an update in July, the Department of Health said the recurrent funding required to deliver these targets has not been made available.
It said even if new recurrent investment was provided, it would not be possible to achieve the objectives of the original five-year timescale.
"The deficit between demand and capacity has been going on for too long and the waiting list backlog has been exacerbated by the impact of Covid," the department said.
According to the department, from 2021 to date, more than £180m has been spent on waiting lists.
The plan was part of an elective care framework that proposed a £700m investment over five years.
Fundamental to the plan was keeping emergency departments separate as much as possible from planned surgical hubs.
Related topics
- Published10 October 2023
- Published31 August 2023
- Published3 October 2023
