- Author, Jane Deith and Alys Harte
- Role, BBC file on 4
The number of children being treated in private hospitals across the UK rose by almost a quarter to more than 46,000 last year, according to new BBC figures.
In each case, the families either paid for treatment or used health insurance – rather than being referred by the NHS.
The record numbers from private healthcare providers come as England’s NHS trusts have told File on 4 that children have become the “forgotten generation” in the race to reduce the health service backlog.
The Department of Health says NHS staff are “working tirelessly” to cut waiting lists.
But the Royal College of Surgeons of England told us that children are falling behind adults and spending years waiting for NHS surgery – with potentially lifelong consequences for their health and development.
NHS Providers, which represents the trusts, says some hospitals find it easier to carry out large numbers of operations on adults because they are often easier and quicker.
‘Cloud Over My Head’
The BBC spoke to a number of families whose children’s conditions worsened during the long wait.
They include 16-year-old Georgina Smith, from Hertfordshire, who is awaiting open-heart surgery to repair a right-sided valve that is not closing properly. It can cause her blood to flow the wrong way, making it harder for her heart to work.
Georgina is one of 601 children waiting for heart surgery in England – 139 waiting more than six months.
She suffers from chest pains, extreme fatigue and fainting spells and has been forced to miss a lot of school.
Ten years ago, Georgina’s parents were told she needed immediate surgery. But then doctors at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital said it would be better to wait until her heart was fully grown.
But last year, an ultrasound showed Georgina’s heart was weakening. Doctors said she should undergo surgery within six months. But Georgina has been on the waiting list for nine months.
Georgina says she feels her surgery will never happen. “It’s like a cloud over my head, it’s always just waiting and waiting and waiting,” she says.
In a statement, Great Ormond Street Hospital told the BBC: “While we have reduced our waiting list for cardiac surgery by 25% since the pandemic, there are many challenges we continue to face. She added that this includes demand for beds, often from emergency room patients.
After the BBC asked the hospital for comment, Georgina was given an operation date in July.
Jane Deith investigates children waiting years for surgery on the NHS
Figures released under a Freedom of Information request reveal the number of children facing very long waiting times to be admitted to hospital in the UK.
It shows at least 20,000 waiting longer than a year for treatment including surgery.
Most of these long waits are in England – close to 16,000 at the start of this month, up 15% on the year.
Before the pandemic, it was extremely rare for children to wait more than a year for surgery.
Trusts in England argue that children must be explicitly prioritized by the government, including more funding, so that trusts can commission more operations.
NHS England, which runs health services in England, said it recognized it could be worrying for families who were waiting for their child’s operation. She said that in addition to intensive care beds, she is increasing the number of beds with fences for pediatric surgery.
The Department of Health added that NHS England has set up a task force to specifically focus on reducing waiting times for pediatric surgery.
In Wales, the Department of Health has told us it is putting more money into the NHS and is prioritizing reducing long waiting times for children.
Health Scotland said it was maximizing productivity and focusing more resources on reducing waiting times for children – particularly the longest.
Overall, the number of children seen privately in the UK has increased by 38% since 2019, before the pandemic.
Figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network do not include NHS trusts using private hospitals to provide treatment.
They show the number of children undergoing private surgery rose by almost a fifth to more than 24,000 last year.
Children between the ages of 15 and 17 are the largest group of patients for surgery. The most common procedures are insertion of ear tubes, removal of tonsils and tonsils, and orthopedic surgery.
‘Harm Will Come’
In Northern Ireland, the Royal College of Surgeons has described waiting times for pediatric surgery as “appalling”.
Niall McGonigle, a chest surgeon in Belfast, says thousands of children are waiting four or five years. He says he has sent an “SOS” to the Northern Ireland Assembly due to serious backlog.
“Children are suffering. We can’t sit back and let this happen because we know patients are being harmed,” the surgeon told the BBC.
“What could have been a relatively straightforward operation turns into a more complex operation that is more difficult for the surgeon, but more importantly, more difficult for the child.”
In extreme cases, there is a risk that very long delays in the operation will cause the child to become non-functional.
Six-year-old Jack Dorrity, from Ballymena, has cerebral palsy and has been waiting for hip surgery since he was three.
Surgeons at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children said at the time that Jack needed immediate surgery on both hips to stop the muscles pulling them out of their sockets.
image source, Aodhan Roberts / Belfast Telegraph
But he’s been on the waiting list for so long that one hip has now dislocated and is growing toward his waist. Jack’s father, Leon, says the longer his son waits, the more he suffers.
“Whenever we put our hands under his legs to lift him out of the chair, it hurts. He twitches, cries. He’s quite upset, so we know it’s causing him pain,” she says.
Since Jack’s hip has fallen out of its socket, it will be more difficult to do the surgery and it would take too long to do both hips at the same time. So Jack now needs two, six hours of surgery.
But the hospital told Jack’s parents it couldn’t do the six-hour operation because it would mean canceling too many other patients. Last year the trust canceled 566 children’s procedures.
Leon was warned if Jack waited much longer for surgery, it might not be possible to put his hips back together. Instead, surgeons may have to cut off the top of his leg bone entirely. Jack would be left more disabled and unable to bear weight on his leg.
“He will have flabby legs and his hips will be unbalanced, which can lead to scoliosis. But if we missed the hip surgery, will we miss the scoliosis surgery?
“I’m mad at Jack. It’s the kids who are failing, and it’s the kids with the greatest needs who are failing.”
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust said in a statement that it was under increased and ongoing pressure and deeply regretted not being able to give Jack the operation. It claimed it was exploring all possible options to help him.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland told us that it is trying to maximize existing capacity in pediatric surgery, but cannot add more capacity with the funding it has received in the budget.