NHS Borders issues warning over pressures facing health service
The head of NHS Borders has issued a stark warning over the pressures the health service faces this winter, telling ITV Border: "It worries me."
Ralph Roberts said last year was the hardest he had ever experienced in 30 years working for the health service but he was "expecting another really difficult year."
The chief executive of NHS Borders was speaking yesterday as the board published its annual review which included performance figures for treatment.
It showed that more than a third of patients had to wait longer than the four hour target for Accident and Emergency (A&E) treatment in 2022/23.
And two in five patients have to wait longer than the target of 18 weeks for mental health treatment, Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Statistics published yesterday include:
63.8% of patients waiting in A&E waited for less than four hours during 2022/23
60.3% of patients waiting from referral to treatment for CAMHS services have waited under 18 weeks in Jan - Mar 2023
97.3% of patients urgently referred for cancer treatment began treatment within 31 days of the decision to treat in the period April 2022 to March 2023
So, the picture is mixed - there are some positive outcomes as the statistics show - but Mr Roberts told me in an interview that the coming winter was of serious concern.
He said: "It worries me. The last winter was the hardest I ever experienced in the 30 plus years I've been in health care and that's what our staff are experiencing day in and day out. And that's what is resulting in the impact on our patients. so yes it's a worry.
"We are working very hard with our partners in the council to try and improve the amount of pasting we've got in the system so we can be in a better position going to next winter and we are in a better position but I wouldn't want to sugar coat this we are expecting another really difficult year."
The problem for the health board stems from Borders General Hospital being at or near capacity over the summer.
Health chiefs worry, to use Mr Roberts word, that when the inevitable extra pressure come in winter, even if there is not another pandemic, the hospital will be unable to cope.
The annual report revealed that at the end of March 2023 63 patients were waiting over 3 days after being ready to be discharged from hospital into an appropriate care setting. During 2022/23, 23,079 bed days were lost to delays.
The key to coping with this is the work that is going on with the Scottish Borders council and the Scottish government to find places for these people to avoid 'bed blocking' - people in hospital who do not need to be there.
The problem is compounded by a shortage of GPs. The board has a 10% vacancy rate, which they are working to reduce.
On top of that the board had a deficit of more than £14million in March and officials say they are trying to reduce it, but it will not be eliminated in the next three years.
Scottish government health minister Jenni Minto conducted the review yesterday as part of a formal process of assessing the work of health boards across Scotland.
I asked her if there would be extra money from the Scottish government to help the Scottish Borders.
She said: "NHS funding comes from the Scottish government and as you know the Scottish government has increased funding to NHS scotland by 1 billion pounds that's a lot of money.
"What we really need to be doing, and I feel strongly about this, is making sure that that money is spent in the right way."
Watch reaction as people wait years for NHS treatment.
Isobel Lafferty has been waiting three years for a hip replacement after a fall during the pandemic.
She was a volunteer in Jedburgh organising events for older people and now can’t do as much. She understands she’ll not get her operation until next year.
She said: "It has affected my life a lot because I enjoyed my retirement as being active in volunteering. I liked helping the elderly and I found them very interesting. I had to give that up completely. I have gone back to helping at a coffee meeting."
Tao McCready, founder of charity SOS, said: “The majority are waiting between two to three years for their appointments.
"The biggest aspect impact that their members are having is their mental wellbeing is being affected Their pain is increasing and it's that unknown of when they're actually going to get that appointment."
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