Patients waiting 90 weeks to see heart specialists in Scottish health board
9 June 2023, 08:47
Patients in one Scottish health board are waiting as long as ninety weeks to see heart specialists.
LBC has found the waiting list for routine cardiologist appointments in the NHS Lanarkshire area is almost two years long.
Bosses say they are prioritising patients with "the greatest needs" but "unfortunately continue to experience challenges across all acute services".
We've spoken with one woman from Wishaw who is on the list having collapsed several times with a rapid heart beat.
Doctors have told Jean, 63, she needs to arrange an appointment about episodes where her pulse races and on occasions she passes out.
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They believe she could be suffering from Postural Tachycardia Syndrome - a problem in the autonomic nervous system
But say she needs to see a specialist for a full diagnosis - which Jean's been told when trying to book an appointment could take 90 weeks.
She told us: "I was with my doctor and they were checking my blood pressure, and they noticed that my pulse kept going up and up all the time.
"Initially I had a 24-hour heart monitor, and I've been going back to the doctor, but she said the best thing to do is ring up the appointments line to see a cardiologist.
"I was first told a few months ago that it would be a 60-week wait. Since then I've had another episode where I ended up in hospital.
"A few weeks ago, I phoned again about an appointment - and was told the wait is actually now 90 weeks.
"I have to spend a lot of time not doing a lot at the moment. There's the worry at the back of my mind. The waiting time just seems ridiculous.
"Say if I've maybe been on my feet for too long, I get faint and light headed. Getting up during the night, I've collapsed a couple of times.
"I collapsed one night and fell into a chest of drawers. I couldn't move and I was on the floor for hours. It is a worry because I live on my own.
"I've also had a brother die suddenly so you just panic. You know something's wrong and you just want it fixed."
Director of Acute Services at NHS Lanarkshire Judith Park said: “Unfortunately, we continue to experience challenges across all our acute services which is resulting in longer waiting times for some outpatient appointments.
"However, we are prioritising those patients with the greatest needs to be seen and treated as soon as possible.
“We would encourage this lady to contact our patient affairs team at patientaffairs.corporate@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk so we can address the concerns she has raised directly with her.”
