Guernsey MSG waiting times below target as demand rose

The target is for patients to be seen within an eight-week period

Waiting times for Guernsey's Medical Specialist Group (MSG) remained below target last year.

A report showed a rise in demand with thousands of more patients seen across the year compared to 2022.

Two thirds of patients got an appointment inside of the target eight weeks, however, for 6% of patients it took more than six months to be seen.

The areas with the longest waiting times were gastroenterology and orthopaedics.

"In the climate of ever-increasing demand, maintaining waiting lists at a stable level should arguably be viewed as a success story," said Dr Peter Rabey, medical director for Health and Social Care.

The MSG is contracted by the States to provide secondary healthcare and the report looks at the Key Performance Indicator relating to the contract.

'Cannot control demand'

It found inpatient admissions went up last year by 1,142 to 15,601 patients compared to 2022 and 20,998 new outpatient referrals, which was an increase of 1,128.

Theatre activity also increased with an extra 319 patients, taking the total number of procedures to 4,640.

Dr Rabey said they would continue to analyse performance and implement improvements collaboratively.

He said: "We cannot control demand for healthcare and there is no doubt that it will continue to increase as the population ages and more treatments become available.

"We do not have infinite financial, staff, ward or theatre resources, but we have created additional capacity through our gastroenterology and orthopaedic waiting list initiatives, and this is helping to stem the tide."

Dr Steve Evans, MSG chair, said: "We are very happy to be held accountable for how we work in partnership with the HSC to deliver high quality secondary healthcare to islanders.

"None of us want to see our patients waiting longer than they should and we are determined to continue to do all we can with HSC to reduce waiting times."