MLA confronts health minister over 82-year-old's wait for appointment

THE Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has said it is ‘awful’ that an 82-year-old man in the borough has been told he faces a 104-week wait for an initial appointment to discuss a potential knee replacement.

Speaking this week, South Antrim DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said he raised the case at the Assembly to highlight the man’s ‘desperate need’.

“My constituent was told that he would have to wait at least 104 weeks before his initial appointment, even before being placed on a waiting list. This is unacceptable,” he fumed.

“His harrowing words of ‘They want me to die before I get this surgery…’ should not fall on deaf ears. Patients deserve better; this cannot continue.

“I thank the Minister for his response and will continue to keep fighting for my constituents of South Antrim.”

In the chamber at Stormont, Mr Nesbitt said: “Nobody wants him to die but 104 weeks is a shocking wait for any age, particularly at that age.

“If you are 80-years-old and you are told you have to wait five years, as a percentage of your remaining life, that could be 100 per cent.

“As a strategic decision, we have gone for the for long waits. I am pleased to report that most people waiting four years for procedures have been seen or will be seen in the remaining weeks of this financial year. Then we will be moving on to those waiting three years.

“There will always be horrible examples, but being told to wait two years for something that impacts so really heavily on quality of life, it is just awful.”