Manx Care endoscopy backlog to be cleared by end of February

Virtual appointments are being rolled out in conjunction with face-to-face hospital visits

A backlog of patients waiting for endoscopy procedures will be cleared by the end of February, the Isle of Man's healthcare body has said.

Manx Care said it was currently on track to have seen about 550 patients between November and the end of next month.

It comes after the Treasury awarded an extra £1.86m in July to help reduce waiting times across health services.

Manx Care CEO Teresa Cope said that remained a "key focus".

Endoscopy waiting lists have been reduced after a collaboration between several teams within the hospital and the removal of the requirement for patients to await the result of a PCR test prior to attending appointments, a spokesman said.

As part of the bid to tackle the number of patients in areas including gastroenterology, cardiology, pain management and ENT, virtual outpatient appointments conducted by Medefer would "begin imminently", he said.

Urgent dermatology referrals and some orthopaedic activity would also be dealt with in the same way, where appropriate.

'Right approach'

Advanced talks were being held with several private healthcare providers over treating some patients to reduce waiting lists faster, however that would "not replace the delivery of activity at either Noble's Hospital or Ramsey District Cottage Hospital", the spokesman added.

Manx Care was tasked with reducing waiting times across the board in health care following its establishment in April.

Ms Cope said though the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated the wait for some, the organisation had "inherited" a number of lengthily patient lists when it was created.

"Utilising the specialist skills" of other health care organisations was "absolutely the right approach" for the body to take, she said.

The move would ensure Manx residents received "the assessment and care they need quickly", which could "only be achieved by supplementing the capacity" available on the island, she added.