Waiting time targets in Guernsey missed in some areas - report

Health bosses in Guernsey failed to meet waiting time targets in some areas, a report has found.

The report measures the performance of Health and Social Care and the Medical Specialist Group against targets for 2022.

It found waiting time targets in emergency department admission and cancer referrals failed to meet targets.

Dr Peter Rabey, HSC medical director, said reducing waiting lists was a "priority".

The Committee for Health and Social Care figures also show the "severity" of delays in patient discharge in 2022.

Improvements had been made in emergency care and how quickly patients with suspected cancer were seen.

Dr Rabey added: 'There is no doubt that our health services continue to be impacted by Covid-19."

The report on secondary healthcare in Guernsey showed there was no improvement against the target for seeing all routine referrals within eight weeks.

It said 95% of referred outpatients and inpatients should be seen by a doctor or consultant within their agreed priority time.

Just over two in three (67%) patients were seen within eight weeks, 83% were seen within three months and almost all (94%) within six months of referral.

The specialities with the longest waiting times continue to be orthopaedics and gastroenterology.

The Emergency Department waiting target, which states that 95% of patients should be admitted or discharged within four hours, was narrowly missed with a result of 89%.

The report said the department "may be the first point of call" for mental health patients who require a longer assessment time.

It said the third Covid-19 wave had resulted in "staff shortages, postponement of surgeries" and further setbacks to waiting list backlogs.

However, referrals to emergency and urgent care had improved, with 100% of emergency inpatients seen within 24 hours compared with 89% in 2021 and almost every urgent inpatient referral (97%) seen within seven days compared with 80% in 2021.

Figures reflecting delays in patients leaving hospital to go home or into social care highlights the "severity" of pressure for long-term care across "all care sectors".

In addition, 52% of outpatients had been seen within two weeks for cancer referral, compared to 82% in 2021.

The States of Guernsey said the delays were "entirely due to patients referred for potential skin cancers".

Meanwhile, Dr Rabey said public support had been "exceptional" and staff were working hard to "reduce the backlogs" caused by Covid-19 lockdowns.

He said the introduction of electronic patient records at the end of 2023 would improve performance.

The report also cited areas where targets were met or exceeded.

The average length of stay for a patient was three days against a target of .six days and the emergency readmission rate was 6% against a target of less than 10%.

Secondary care in Guernsey by the Office of the Committee for Health & Social Care (HSC), the Medical Specialist Group (MSG), the Guernsey Therapy Group (GTG) and other visiting or off-island providers.

Dr Steve Evans, MSG Chair, said they were "determined" to reduce waiting lists and get back into a pre-pandemic position.

He said there were "positives on the horizon", including a waiting list initiative and hospital modernisation programme.

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