Five-year wait for epilepsy surgery

Waiting times of between three and five years are typical for patients who require life-saving epilepsy surgery at Beaumont Hospital.

Current waiting times stand at up to two years to get an initial appointment to see a neurologist. To then get a MRI scan takes ten months, and to get a Video EEG takes another two years. On top of that, it takes one year to see a neuropsychologist.

Some of these waits are concurrent but the overall lead-up process before the neurosurgery is long and potentially life threatening, said Dr Norman Delanty, Consultant Neurologist and Director of the Epilepsy Programme at Beaumont.

Funding for a fifth neurology consultant post, for instance – a position for a person with expertise in epilepsy – which was approved for Beaumont, was last month withdrawn, Dr Delanty said.

Figures obtained by IMT reveal growing waiting lists for consultants referring patients for diagnostics, with MRI waits in August of 290 days in Beaumont, 223 days in Mayo and 203 days in St James.

The HSE has said it plans to tackle wide inconsistencies in patient throughput, in a bid to cut waiting lists of over one year.

There was supposed to be an incentive to see more patients under the new consultants’ contract, however, operational bottlenecks have emerged. A reimbursement ratio emphasising new over returning patients was expected to have an impact.

However, the expected number of new consultants has not emerged. “There are major discrepancies between the number of new patients seen by neurologists in different parts of the country and in different hospitals,” said Health Minister Mary Harney.

A recent HSE report, Strategic Review of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Services, recommends a doubling of (adult) neurology consultant posts nationally to 42.

Many weaknesses in the current system are identified. These include the long waits for services at all levels, insufficient specialist resources in hospitals and in community services, poor access to diagnostics and to specialist multidisciplinary care, poor integration between hospital and community services and difficulty in accessing patient equipment and aids.

GPs are generally unhappy with the current service because of delays. There is unequal access and long waiting lists for neurology diagnosis, treatment and care, the report found. Also, it said additional neurologist posts should be allocated to Limerick, Sligo and Waterford so that no neurologist operates single–handed. A total of 12 paediatric neurologists are required nationally. - Irish Medical Times