Six-year wait for knee replacements in NHS Highland as elective treatment backlog grows By Tom Ramage Published: 17:06, 24 February 2021
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Highlands MSP Edward Mountain today called on the Scottish Government to set out its plans to remobilise NHS Highland and ensure lengthening treatment backlogs are reduced urgently post-pandemic.
Currently, all elective operations have been suspended in NHS Highland to free up capacity to treat patients with Covid-19.
Mr Mountain raised the issue during the First Ministerâs covid-19 statement in the Scottish Parliament: âElective orthopaedic surgery in the Highlands stopped a long time ago due to Covid-19.
So, what’s the solution? Since the 2018 white paper
No hospital is an island, important strides have been made in acute care collaboration through the adoption of group models and chains in the NHS. However, the tangible benefits of these can be slow to mobilise, even with significant investment in rebuilding culture, governance and operational processes.
Elective Care Hubs enable trusts to deliver benefits at pace but with less upfront investment required. By combining resources to deliver elective activity within a health system or geography, the utilisation of resources such as theatre space, bed capacity, equipment and staffing can be maximised, as can the ability to treat patients in date or priority order.