LONG waiting times being experienced by Islanders in need of operations and other forms of healthcare are “unacceptable”, the Health Minister has admitted.
Deputy Karen Wilson outlined the measures being taken to improve services and reduce waiting times in response to criticism from Scrutiny panel members during a quarterly hearing yesterday.
The Health and Social Security Panel heard about a series of delays to some of the strategies being developed by officials, as well as regarding the publication of accurate information about waiting times.
Among the strategies subject to delay were those covering primary care, citizen engagement and autism/neurodiversity, Deputy Wilson said, citing the high workloads among officials in the Health Department.
The Health Department’s director-general, Chris Bown, said that work was taking place to ensure that information on waiting times for all specialities, as well as readmission rates, was available by early next year.
Panel chair Deputy Rob Ward expressed frustration on behalf of Islanders needing healthcare.
He said: “There are a lot of promises of new strategies, but there are people in difficult situations having to wait and wait and wait, and the last thing they want to hear is that [their operation] will happen, but not be given a date.
“Where is the urgency? When will we see real, tangible improvements?”
Deputy Wilson said: “It’s unacceptable that people are waiting this long for treatment.
“There are a hell of a lot of negotiations going on about improvements, and we have seen some slight improvements in some areas.”
Digitisation of health and the move to electronic patient records was another matter raised by panel members, with Deputy Wilson conceding this was one of several “legacy issues” inherited from those who were formerly in charge at Health.
“If we were to start again, we would not have done it this way,” she said.
The minister said that implementation of the new electronic records had caused problems for clinicians and affected care, adding, “that should never have happened”.
A new chief information officer for the Health Department was set to take up their position in the new year, Mr Bown said, acknowledging that switching elements of the digitisation process to a central government function had been another legacy issue.
Deputy Rob Ward said the digital strategy was a “convoluted idea with no real implementation of any-thing”, while colleague Deputy Barbara Ward observed that she looked forward to the department “having someone who would know about computers”.
Mr Bown said that maternity was one area set to see improvements, with a new director of midwifery expected to take up their role in early December.
