Colonoscopy patients 'forgotten and ignored'

Service has failed for the last six years says charity

Patients waiting to receive essential treatment for bowel disease were 'forgotten and in some cases ignored' according to a support charity.

A backlog of 157 patients in the last year is said to have been cleared by the Department of Health, following measures to address it.

However, the Isle of Man Health and Care Association, says there has been an enormous failure of care over the course of the last 6 years.

The charity, which advocates for those who have felt aggrieved by the NHS care on the Island, has received a complaint from a relative of a patient that was recommended for a follow-up colonscopy in 2014, but died having never been offered the procedure.

That came in spite of requests to the appropriate department from relatives and medical advisers.

According to the charity, the Department has played down any adverse effects of the delays, attributing it to insufficient capacity at Ramsey hospital.

The scale of this problem is unknown, it says, but it seems likely many people have been affected since 2011.

A spokesperson for the Health and Care Association told Manx Radio, "these delays do not relate to problems of unexpected demand on the service or limited capacity.

"Follow-up colonoscopy is required when an abnormality is found in the colon which requires further investigation and the degree of urgency required is determined by the consultant.

"These patients normally have priority over routine surveillance cases but this did not, apparently happen.

"The endoscopy review commissioned in May 2017 was due to be reported early this year, but has not yet seen the light of day. I wonder why?"

Those still awaiting follow-up colonoscopy from the same period were only considered, they said, when the issue was ‘finally recognised by hospital management’.

According to the charity, there is no data on any cases that suffered from delay in diagnosis of significant bowel disease before May 2017.

Therefore, it would be interested to hear from any individuals who were diagnosed with bowel cancer after a planned colonoscopy failed to materialise between 2011 and 2017 as this is likely to be the only way of obtaining information.

If you have been affected by this, contact the newsroom in confidence on 682630 or email newsroom@manxradio.com