John Swinney says he is “sincerely sorry” an Inverurie cancer survivor has waited more than three years for breast reconstruction surgery – but admits there is no “instant solution”.
The first minister was confronted at Holyrood on Thursday with evidence of the long waits facing women for delayed surgery to reconstruct their breast after having mastectomies during the pandemic.
On Monday, the P&J revealed Denise Rothnie, from Inverurie, has been left languishing at the bottom of the waiting list for a reconstruction after more than three years.
North East Tory MSP Tess White highlighted our coverage during a First Minister’s Questions session dominated by health service concerns.
The first minister responded: “I can’t stand here and offer an instant solution – and I’m sorry about that.
“But what I will give Ms White is the commitment the health secretary will engage constructively and actively with health boards to try to make more progress with the issue that she puts to me on behalf of her constituent.”
Mr Swinney said priority is being given to patients who are facing “trauma and active cancers” and that progress is trying to be made on pandemic backlogs across Scotland.
Denise was just 29 when she received her breast cancer diagnosis in December 2020, as the country grappled with the Covid lockdown.
She needed a mastectomy to remove one of her breasts but was told that with less theatre time available due to the pandemic, she wouldn’t be able to get the surgery to restore the shape of her breast at the same time.
‘Ridiculously angry’
Initially, she was told she could face a wait of up to a year for the reconstruction.
She has now waited more than three years and was recently told she is “still at the bottom” and that “people with breast cancer need to be seen first”.
Speaking to the P&J after the exchanges, Denise said: “I am ridiculously angry by that outcome.
“They are the ones that have the power to change this situation and saying they need to look into without actually acting on it now is a kick in the teeth.”
She added: “I’m upset, disappointed and angry that the government has let this happen.
NHS Grampian on ‘challenges’
NHS Grampian issued a public apology, admitting a “number of patients” waited “vastly longer” than they would have liked for reconstructive surgery.
However, the health board said surgical capacity “remains challenged” with patients assessed on immediate clinical need.
A spokesman said: “Breast reconstruction operations usually take in excess of 12 hours to complete and require a large amount of staff and theatre provisions, which we are currently unable to provide due to a need to prioritise demand elsewhere.
“We have been aware of the issues and challenges this creates for these patients for some time and recently contacted the Scottish Government requesting either additional funding or the use of capacity elsewhere in Scotland in the hope they can be seen sooner.”
Speaking after FMQs, Ms White said: “John Swinney rightly apologised but his response gave little comfort to these brave women whose lives are being held back by the Scottish Government’s failure to give our NHS the resources it needs.
“Women like Denise shouldn’t be made to suffer in silence.”
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