Health Minister Welcomes Innovative New Hospital Services

Health Minister Robin Swann has welcomed the progress being made on the development of innovative new services, designed to help reduce waiting lists and improve patient care.

During a visit to Craigavon Area Hospital, the Minister met teams working in the Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) service and the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU). Staff in both have received Elective Care Recognition Awards from the Department of Health.

Southern Health and Social Care Trust has the only fixed lithotripter in Northern Ireland, used to treat kidney and ureteric stones, potentially avoiding more invasive surgical intervention. The ESWL service at Craigavon provides seven regional sessions per week for both acute and elective stone treatment. A focus on high throughput days and the re-design of the unit's layout have contributed to a more efficient service. By increasing sessions, the waiting times for patients to receive this service have been decreasing.

The Health Minister said: "I congratulate all of the staff who have been involved in the development of the ESWL service and the Regional Stone Service in the Southern Trust. The success of the ESWL in supporting patients and reducing waiting times has been a result of the hard work and collaboration of all involved.

"The unacceptable position with waiting lists across all Trusts is a key priority for my department and I am encouraged to learn of a significant reduction in ESWL waits as a result of the team's efforts. This has brought real benefits to patients and more generally to Urology services across Northern Ireland, helping to increase the capacity in all Trusts."

Lynn Lappin, Assistant Director for Surgical and Out-Patient Services from Southern Trust said: "With the successful establishment of the ESWL regional service in Craigavon, the team is in the process of developing a regional Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL) service. The PCNL is a minimally invasive procedure used to remove certain stones from the kidney or upper ureter that are too large for other forms of stone treatment. It is usually done under local or general anaesthesia. With both ESWL and PCNL regional services based in Craigavon will be the regional hub for stone treatments.

Minister Swann also visited the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU) at Craigavon Hospital. PACUs operate in hospitals across NI and help to protect critical care capacity by supporting patients with complex elective surgery, or complex characteristics, who need intermediate care i.e. more support than can be provided on a general ward but who do not require the support of an Intensive Care or High Dependency Unit. The units also provide efficiency by creating dedicated elective care beds, thus protecting critical care capacity and reducing ‘last minute' cancellation of complex elective inpatient surgery.

The Minister said: "PACU has increased patient safety by providing higher risk surgical patients with enhanced monitoring and has also reduced the burden on highly sought-after critical care beds. I want to acknowledge the wider team involved in developing and implementing the PACU service for their hard work and dedication to improving the delivery of elective care.

"This is a great example of where multidisciplinary team working can bring real benefits to patients through improved experiences and outcomes, while at the same time benefitting the wider system through efficient provision of care. Removing avoidable inefficiencies in current surgical pathways is key to reducing waiting lists."