Over eight week wait for some operations in Guernsey

People due to have surgery in Guernsey could have to wait more than 8 weeks to be seen. It is down to a backlog of appointments caused by the pandemic.

There is a particularly high number of people waiting for orthopedic surgery and in specialties like ear, nose and throat procedures. The Medical Specialist Group in Guernsey say it is also expecting increased referrals from Primary Care as patient confidence has returned to attend appointments.

Health and Social Care and the Medical Specialist Group say they are working on achieving a 'pre-Covid-19 business as usual' average workload of around 460 day patient and 100 inpatient surgical cases a month.

However, the chairman of the MSG has admitted that patients who have tried to inquire about their operation date will not receive "definitive information."

People are being asked by the group to consult the FAQ page on the MSG website or States of Guernsey website to answer their queries about their operation, so staff can focus on scheduling appointments now that all PEH facilities are being made available again.

Despite a backlog of operations caused by the pandemic, the head of the HSC says many people who were in critical conditions were still able to receive their operations during the height of lockdown.

Appointments within Children & Family, Adult Community, Adult Disability and Mental Health Services are expected to be back up and running in the shortest time frame now the island has entered into phase five of lockdown.