Waiting list damaging hospital status?

HEALTH Minister James Reilly is coming under pressure to sanction extra resources for the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis amid claims it may not be confirmed as a national colonoscopy screening unit due to a backlog of 372 patients waiting for colonoscopies.

 

Councillor Tom McNamara has highlighted the maximum 10-month waiting time for routine colonoscopies in the €2.5 million endoscopy unit at Ennis hospital, which he believes is unacceptable.

The former psychiatric nurse claimed at a HSE West Forum meeting in Galway on Tuesday that Ennis wasn’t approved as one of the 15 initial candidate screening colonoscopy units following a recent inspection, because of the length of the waiting list.

He questioned Mid-Western Hospital Group chief executive officer, Ann Doherty at the meeting but she declined to confirm or deny whether the hospital had passed the inspection.

Councillor McNamara said it would be far better if the HSE put extra resources into Ennis hospital to significantly reduce this backlog, rather than adding a new layer of bureaucracy under the new Hospital Trust System, which is a new management structure for acute hospitals in the Mid-West.

A spokeswoman for the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) confirmed no decision has been made about the exclusion or inclusion of hospitals like Ennis.

Ms Doherty stated there are about 372 patients active on the waiting list in the endoscopy unit at Ennis hospital.

“All referrals for colonoscopies are graded by the consultant and prioritised based on clinical need. All urgent colonoscopies are done within 28 days.

“The maximum waiting time is currently 10 months for routine colonoscopies and we have put arrangements in place to achieve the waiting target of no-one waiting over three months by the end of next September,” she said.

Responding to queries from The Clare Champion, a HSE spokesman confirmed the authority has not yet received the final accreditation report.

“It is regrettable that Councillor McNamara is ignoring the many positive developments at Ennis hospital, including significant investment in new facilities and services – all made against a background of national economic crisis – and choosing instead to engage in political clichés that do not withstand serious examination.

“There has been no increase in management staffing so there is no ‘new level of bureaucracy’ as alleged. The new arrangements represent the introduction of a common system of management and clinical governance to give a better service to patients.

“The HSE are fortunate that a clinician of Professor O’Higgins’ reputation has agreed to serve as chairman of the new hospital trust and this is a public demonstration of the importance attached to the participation of clinicians in health service governance,” the spokesman added.

Once the new colorectal cancer screening programme is introduced in the second quarter of this year, men and women aged 60 and 69 will be offered a free home testing kit – Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). About 94% to 95% of participants will receive a normal FIT result and will be offered another home testing kit in a further two years.

Another 5% to 6% of people screened will receive a result that will require an additional test. They will be referred for a screening programme colonoscopy.

About 930 people die from colorectal cancer in Ireland every year, while over 2,000 people are diagnosed with the life-threatening disease.

The colorectal screening programme was supposed to be introduced this summer.

Achieving confirmed status as a screening colonoscopy unit will be contingent on the 15 candidate hospitals demonstrating sufficient capacity, reduced waiting times for all endoscopy procedures, adherence to clinical performance targets, quality standards and meeting accreditation requirements as determined by the NCSS Quality Assurance Committee.

Ennis hospital was the only hospital in the Mid-West region selected as an initial candidate hospital for colorectal screening and was only the second alongside Castlebar hospital in the entire HSE West Forum region, which stretches from Donegal to North Tipperary.

Scoping procedures started in the new Ennis endoscopy unit last October. It includes a two-room endoscopy suite, four recovery beds and a 12-bed day ward. It cost about €1.3m to construct, while equipment and fit-out totalled €1.2m.