Question reference: S5W-36150
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 11 March 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 April 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area who are waiting for a hip replacement operation are given a date for their surgery, such as the cases that have been highlighted in the Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
Answer
The national Clinical Prioritisation Framework for Supporting Elective Care across NHS Scotland was published in November last year. This Framework sets out the key principles that NHS Boards should follow when considering decisions around prioritising cases on their elective care waiting lists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The expectation is that NHS Boards will follow these principles to categorise patients based on their particular clinical needs, ensuring patients with the greatest need are treated quickest.
NHS Dumfries & Galloway are currently treating patients on the basis of their clinical urgency and in line with the Clinical Prioritisation Framework. In addition to support Orthopaedic patients the Board are actively sending patients to the NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital for treatment.
Due to the necessary infection prevention control measures in place, surgical capacity will increase over time with the safety of patients and staff maintained at all times. Every effort is being made to support the NHS to mobilise as safely and as quickly as possible.