Thousands of individuals in the United Kingdom, some of whom have waited years for medical care, have been placed back on hospital waitlists for “non-urgent” procedures and appointments originally scheduled for the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Due to the national bank holiday declared for Monday, September 19, many hip and knee replacements, cataract procedures, pregnancy exams, and cancer treatments have been postponed or delayed.
ITV reported that the National Health Service (NHS) advised general practitioners that they are permitted to close on Monday to pay their respects to the Queen, and that several hospitals had also postponed non-urgent appointments.
It has been terrible for people who have endured record-long delays for medical attention to be placed back on the waiting list.
They will likely have to wait a few more months before seeing a specialist. Nearly 6.8 million individuals in the United Kingdom were waiting for appointments at the end of July, a record high, and more than 377,000 had been waiting for a year or longer, according to Open Democracy.
—Sarah-Louise Knight (@slk writes)
September 12, 2022
Sarah-Louise, a Twitter user, stated that two acquaintances from a patient support group had “long-awaited procedures” to remove uterine fibroids that were canceled due to a funeral. Fibroid removals may not be deemed urgent because the growths are often noncancerous, but they can cause pelvic pain when they gather in and around the uterus.
Atlanta #PAL #LeftUnity #NEISvoid
September 12, 2022
A Twitter user named Atlanta remarked, “Life-threatening illnesses and cancer do not observe holidays.”
“Further delays to treatments/appointments will add to the stress that both patients and staff are already experiencing,” the post said.
Some centers remain operational, while others have shuttered without informing patients.
The NHS instructed healthcare providers in a letter to “ensure staff, patients, and the public are informed of any changes to services by utilizing accessible patient communications, websites, and on-site notices.” For certain cases, however, this was not the case.
—venus ⚢❤🔥🪷 | HE/FAE (@VENUSFAEDYKE)
September 13, 2022
“I can’t believe a tweet informed me that my cancer appointment was canceled before the hospital did,” a Twitter user tweeted on Tuesday.
Funeral-related delays will simply lengthen already-exceedingly-long wait times for medical care. Due to the pandemic, nearly forty percent of cancer patients examined by the NHS had their treatment delayed by at least two months, exceeding the maximum wait period suggested by Cancer Research UK.
ITV reports that certain cancer centers will remain open and see patients as usual on Monday. Emergency care and procedures deemed “urgent” will also proceed as planned, but patients’ and providers’ conceptions of urgency may vary.
NO direct messages #FBPE #FBNHS from Ian Parsons (@IanLabour)
September 12, 2022
On social media, family members of those whose appointments were canceled cited the funeral as the cause for the cancellations. According to Open Democracy, NHS England stated that the choice was “for trusts to make locally” despite widespread reports to the contrary.
—Paul Patrick (@PaulTyredagh81) on Twitter
September 13, 2022
—theplushbunni’s Twitter account
September 13, 2022