Fife gran Wendy Clark has been waiting almost a year and a half to have orthopaedic surgery on her ankles.
Wendy is one of around 300 orthopaedic patients in Fife waiting more than 52 weeks for an operation.
The 55-year-old from Glenrothes is telling her story just a few weeks after new data by Audit Scotland revealed NHS Fife has some of the worst surgery waiting times in Scotland.
The statistics showed NHS Fife met the required standard in only 47 per cent of cases.
This is despite a government mandate that all inpatient or day case treatments must be carried out within 12 weeks of referral.
It also comes as First Minister John Swinney this week has set out plans to reduce waiting lists in certain procedures – such as orthopaedics.
He has suggested turning some facilities – including Stracathro Hospital in Brechin and the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline – into “centres of excellence”.
When did Wendy start having problems with her ankles?
Wendy explains that she started getting really sore ankles in 2020.
“For about a week at a time I wasn’t able to walk with the flare ups,” the gran-of-three says.
“My GP thought it was rheumatoid arthritis so he referred me to the rheumatology department at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
“Tests were carried out and they said it wasn’t rheumatoid arthritis.
“I was then discharged. But I wasn’t referred anywhere.
“It took another three years before I was eventually referred to orthopaedics.”
Diagnosed with ‘flat foot’
After a consultation with her surgeon in the summer of 2023, Wendy was diagnosed with ‘flat foot’.
“My surgeon explained the arches in my feet had dropped,” Wendy says.
“And as it had gone on for the past three years, it caused arthritis in my ankles.
“As a result I needed to get an operation to make a new arch in each foot, have work done on my tendons and have plates put in my ankles to strengthen them.”
When was Wendy added to the surgery waiting list?
In August 2023, Wendy was added to the waiting list for orthopaedic surgery.
Her surgeon told her it would be a complex operation on both ankles – with one done at a time.
And that she would be off her feet for at least three months after the surgery.
Wendy continues: “When I asked my surgeon how long his waiting list was, he told me it would be a year and a half to two years wait.
“My chin hit the floor when he said that.
“There was already 250 people on his list.
“I was crying because I thought how can I go on in pain for more than a year?”
Wendy’s condition has ‘deteriorated’
Since then, Wendy says the condition of her ankles has since deteriorated dramatically.
“I developed an ulcer on my right leg and then wounds on my feet.
“And from the start of last year I started needing to use crutches most of the time.
“But I can’t use them outside because I am too unsteady on my feet.
“So I am stuck in the house 24/7.”
Recently Wendy had an appointment for a pre-op assessment, although she still doesn’t have a date for surgery.
She continues: “Although things seem to be moving forward, it doesn’t justify how long I’ve had to wait in the first instance.
“My life has changed drastically in the last few years.
“Living in extreme pain 24/7 is horrendous. Until I get these operations my life is on hold.”
Opting for private treatment to avoid a lengthy wait
Meanwhile a Burntisland grandmother was told she would be looking at a two-year wait to have hip replacement surgery on the NHS.
So in December 2021 Sue Stenton used her savings to have the operation done privately.
The 64-year-old had horrendous pain in her groin and right hip.
“I could only walk a few steps before the pain became unbearable,” the grandmother-of-four explains.
“But after being in a lot of pain for months, I couldn’t carry on so I opted to go private.
“I was fortunate that we had savings.
“But if we hadn’t, I would have taken out a bank loan to cover the cost.
“That’s how desperate it feels when you are in pain 24/7 with no relief.”
Sue had the operation done at Spire Murrayfield at a cost of £16k – this included the cost of private rehab physio after the surgery.
“Immediately after surgery the gnawing, constant pain was gone. It was absolute bliss.”
‘It’s wrong people are forced to go private’
Sue says it’s wrong people should feel forced into using their savings to pay for private treatment.
“It’s also not right that people – who are not in a financial position to do so – are having to continue to exist in pain.”
Sue adds: “The NHS was never designed for the volume of people using it now. Its current model does not work.”
What is NHS Fife’s response?
NHS Fife says since the publication of the Audit Scotland report, the proportion of patients in Fife waiting in excess of 12 weeks for planned surgery has improved slightly.
However, it says achieving the target remains very challenging.
A spokesperson says: “Many people are waiting longer than we would like for planned surgery.
“There are several reasons why this is the case.
“We have seen a marked change in the health of our population since the pandemic, which has increased the demand across many healthcare services including planned surgery.
“The challenges affecting Fife are mirrored across the country.”
How has the Scottish Government responded?
Scottish health secretary Neil Gray says health service backlogs are being reduced through new capacity at national treatment centres.
He says: “We are making progress but know there is more to do.”
Conversation