An Aberdeen mum campaigning for breast cancer survivors to get delayed reconstruction surgery is taking her fight to Holyrood, as the P&J reveals the extent of waiting times in Grampian.
Christy Esslemont is one of a growing number of women in the north-east to open up to the P&J over the years-long waits they face to get the operation.
We revealed last month how women who had to delay their reconstruction – including during the pandemic – are now left languishing at the bottom of the NHS list for years.
Denise Rothnie was the first woman to share her story with the P&J after being told she had not moved up the list after a three-year wait.
Length of waits exposed
Now, new figures seen by the P&J show 34 people are on the waiting list for delayed reconstruction surgery in Grampian as of November 15.
The longest has been waiting since 2017 – three years before the pandemic.
Other data, released following a freedom of information request, shows the average wait for a delayed reconstruction is three and a half years.
A total of eight women waited over four years for the operation, the figures provided by NHS Grampian on November 6 reveal.
Only women with active cancer and trauma are being prioritised due to surgical capacity pressures on health boards across Scotland, including Grampian.
‘I’m very angry’
Ms Esslemont has submitted a petition to Holyrood, calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding for delayed breast reconstructions and to ensure waiting time information is accurate.
The 46-year-old, who lives in the West End of Aberdeen, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2022 and had a mastectomy to remove one of her breasts in April.
She was encouraged to delay her surgery for clinical reasons, including that she had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy ahead of her.
But she was shocked to learn in May that she had only just been added to the waiting list and faces a wait of three to four years.
Speaking to the P&J, she said her motivation to lodge a petition came after learning delayed reconstructions were not being carried out, and hadn’t been for some time.
“I’m very angry on my behalf but also for all the other women that we are just being left indefinitely to just wait around”, she added.
“We weren’t given that information that they weren’t able to carry them out.”
NHS Grampian publicly apologised last month and said a “number” of women have waited “vastly longer” than they would have liked for the surgery.
First Minister John Swinney said he was “sincerely sorry” when told about Ms Rothnie’s lengthy wait – but admitted there is no “instant solution”.
‘Clear the backlog’
A letter sent from NHS Grampian to Ms Esslemont on November 15 said that due to pressures on the health service, the health board is prioritising the “most time critical procedures”.
On Thursday, the health board declared a critical incident and diverted some patients to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and Ninewells in Dundee, as a result of the wider pressures the service locally is under.
It added: “Clinical teams have been working at weekends to help clear the backlog and the longest waiting patients.
“This was further boosted earlier this year when the Scottish Government provided funding for additional theatre nursing to support longer operating sessions.
“However, the delayed reconstruction cases have not proved easy to schedule as the demand for immediate reconstructions, melanoma and breast cancer patients remains high, therefore continuing to take priority.”
The petition, which is currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament, states: “The information about waiting times is not clear when patients are told that they have breast cancer and need a mastectomy.
“Patients can still opt for a delayed reconstruction not knowing that it could take years or never happen at all.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said they have been engaging with NHS Grampian on this issue for “some time”.
She added: “Breast reconstruction surgery includes some highly specialised complex surgeries which are only performed in few specialist centres around Scotland.
“Currently plastic surgery services are concentrating efforts on treating patients with trauma or active cancers. Regrettably, this means patients waiting for delayed reconstructive surgery are waiting longer for the care they need.”
Conversation