Health bosses commit to waiting list clarity after lack of patient communication

Jersey's health bosses have committed to reinstating the monthly waiting list data online for patients by the end of March 2024. Credit: ITV Channel

Health bosses in Jersey have committed to providing patients with clear and easily accessible details of hospital waiting lists.

It comes after changes to Jersey's website last year saw figures removed and then replaced by lengthy health board papers.

Jersey's monthly health board papers are created for staff meetings, rather than patients, and do not specify where someone is in the queue.

Dr Nigel Minihane, a Jersey GP, says: "Patients should actually be able to see where they are on the waiting list - not just the waiting list.

"With the technology we have at the moment - it shouldn't be a far fetched thing to give people information ... why shouldn't our island be able to do that?"

Dr Nigel Minihane: "Fudging the issue is not something that we should be doing"

Former patient Annette Brown, who waited 14 months for her operation, said: "You need to know - you absolutely need to know.

"I can't begin to tell you how depressed I felt - I couldn't do anything and it's the waiting it's just really hard to wait so long you know".

Jersey's health bosses have now committed to reinstating the monthly waiting list data online for patients by the end of March 2024.

Saying: "Information about waiting lists is currently available every month and presented to the Health and Community Advisory Board.

"In addition to this, we will be publishing the average waiting times for procedures on our website by the end of this month.

"However, our ultimate aim is to give patients an indication of when they will next be seen, during their face to face consultation with a clinician."

Currently, 13,501 people are on the island's waiting list.

6875 people, or 51%, of patients on the new referral list have waited for more than 90 days.

In Guernsey, more than 2,800 islanders are currently waiting for inpatient appointments. That is around one in 23 island residents.

ITV Channel is waiting for a response from Guernsey's government on the details they provide to patients.