MSP’s plea over operation cancellations by NHS Lanarkshire

You must carry out vital operations wherever possible – that is the uncompromising message from one politician as patients learn of the extent to which procedures have been cancelled.

Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson is now calling on the Scottish Nationalists to guarantee NHS Lanarkshire will be able to continue with potentially lifesaving treatments for patients requiring urgent medical attention.

And he argues that Coronavirus or no Coronavirus, those involved must not be sidelined at this or any other time – especially as winter is fast approaching.

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The MSP’s call comes after new figures showed that in the last six months between April and September, only 2,784 operations for April-September 2020 took place in NHS Lanarkshire.

That compares to an average of 14,215 operations that took place between 2016-19, meaning a potential 11,431 operations were not carried out in recent months.

While Mr Simpson says that everything must be done to tackle rising Covid cases,he has stated that the SNP must not forget about patients who are lying waiting for vital operations in North and South Lanarkshire.

He has called on the SNP Government to urgently ensure that NHS Lanarkshire frontline staff are given the full resources to ensure patients are given urgent clarification as to whether their operations will go ahead or not.

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He said :“While we must do we all we can to tackle the rise in Covid cases, the SNP must ensure patients in NHS Lanarkshire who are waiting for vital operations are not simply forgotten about. It is concerning that a potential 11, 431 operations will have been cancelled or put on hold in the last six months.

“The SNP must ensure that NHS Lanarkshire frontline staff are given the urgent resources necessary to ensure procedures can take place wherever possible.

“As we head into winter, waiting times for operations in NHS Lanarkshire cannot spiral out of control.”

Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire acting director of acute services, acknowledged that some difficult decisions were made as the second wave of cases has proved to be worse than the first.

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She said: “The safety of our patients is always our top priority. We are now treating more patients with confirmed Covid-19 in our hospitals than at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.

“Due to the demand on our services, we have had to cancel some non-urgent procedures and outpatient clinics to create physical and staff capacity to care for high clinical priority patients.

“The decision to cancel any appointment is not one that we take lightly and I apologise for the impact this will have on patients.

“I would like to remind the public that Covid-19 is causing severe pressure on our NHS resources in Lanarkshire.

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In fact, Lanarkshire currently has one of the highest rates of Covid-19 transmission in Scotland.”

Meanwhile, the health board has also reinforced its message of how patients can get tested for the virus.

Those who feel unwell are being asked to use the NHS Inform online guide to find their options

Patients unable to get online should call 0800 028 2816. If symptoms worsen, or last for more than seven days, patients should then take the step of calling 111.

Surgeries and pharmacies are still off-limits to those who think they may have the virus amidst fears that this could widen its reach at a critical time.

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