Health Minister has welcomed a successful
initiative that's helping to reduce surgical waiting lists by
rapidly assessing long-waiting patients.
‘Mega Clinics' alleviate pressure across the system by targeting
large groups of patients in a ‘one stop shop' which involves
surgical review and anaesthetic preoperative assessment in a
single appointment.
Joint surgical and anaesthetic preoperative assessment Mega
Clinics have been piloted across Belfast and Western Trust areas,
bringing together surgical, anaesthetic, nursing and
administrative teams to enable assessment of patients who have
been waiting a long time for surgery. In many cases,
patients leave the clinic with a date for their procedure at one
of the regional elective care centres within three months of
assessment.
The Minister praised the teams at Belfast City Hospital during a
visit to one of their weekend Mega Clinics.
Minister Nesbitt said: “Reducing waiting times is a key area of
focus for me and the development of Mega Clinics has made a
significant contribution in supporting reduction of waiting
lists. I was keen to have the opportunity to see first-hand the
pivotal role that the Belfast City Hospital Mega Clinic is
playing in this process.
“The fact that these clinics reduce on the day cancellations and
lost theatre capacity is welcome news.
“I am very appreciative and supportive of the excellent work I
have seen here today and want to thank all of the staff for their
hard work and dedication and for playing their part in helping to
transform our health service. I was pleased to be able to award
them the Department's Elective Care Management Team Recognition
Award in September.
“The establishment of the Mega Clinic model across a number of
specialities would have a direct impact on reducing the number of
people waiting for procedures in NI. However, this requires
recurrent funding, and I will continue to do all I can, in a very
constrained financial environment, to ensure that we can expand
successful and transformative projects like this.”
Mega clinics are a key component in the health and social care
reform agenda and can play a significant role in reducing the
number of people waiting for procedures here. For patients,
this can mean fewer journeys and less time off work.
Dr Rosie Hogg, Consultant Anaesthetist in the Belfast Health
& Social Care Trust and Clinical Co-Chair of the Elective
Care Centre Implementation Group in the Department of Health
said: “The Megaclinic initiative aims to prepare large numbers of
the longest waiting patients for surgery. If, after clinical
validation by the surgical team, patients still need or wish to
have their procedure we immediately prepare them by thorough
assessment of their medical history and give advice about having
their procedure. This also helps to decide at which site
they can have their procedure performed safely and within the
shortest period of time, allowing theatre lists in all of our
hospitals to be fully utilised and reducing on the day
cancellations, which waste valuable resources.
“Clinics have been delivered in the Belfast and Western Trusts
with patients awaiting surgery in specialities including
Gynaecology, General Surgery and ENT benefitting from the
service. We have had very positive feedback from patients
and the multidisciplinary team and hope to develop this model
further across the region.”
