More than 880 waiting in Guernsey for orthopaedic procedures

Since the opening of the dedicated orthopaedic unit in October 2022, more than 463 procedures have taken place

More than 880 patients are currently waiting for orthopaedic procedures in Guernsey, the States has said.

A new unit opened up at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital one year ago to help with the backlog of patients awaiting surgery.

More than 463 procedures have taken place on the de Havilland unit since.

Health Officials said the waiting list remained "a huge challenge", but the number of procedures completed would have been fewer without the unit.

In September 2022, the waiting list was 805, including private cases, and in October 2023, a total of 885 patients are waiting for surgery.

'Huge challenge'

The States said the rising waiting list showed the demand was "every increasing in this area of medicine".

Medical Director Dr Peter Rabey said the unit had enabled a "large number of patients to be treated".

"While some elective surgery still runs the risk of postponement due to staffing issues, there is no doubt that the numbers of orthopaedic cases completed would have been far fewer in the absence of the dedicated unit," he said.

"The multi-disciplinary team approach from pre-assessment to discharge has improved patient experience, reduced the average length of stay for joint surgery and has removed 463 patients off the orthopaedic waiting list."

The States said the average length of stay on the unit was two days.

It said a further 144 "mainly emergency" operations had also taken place at the de Sausmarez ward in the last 12 months.

George Cooper, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, said having beds prioritised for orthopaedic procedures was "needed".

"Whilst the waiting list remains a huge challenge, this demonstrates a significant step to address the increasing demand until more theatre capacity is achieved, and I would like to thank all staff involved for their hard work and care," he said.

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