Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has been asked to intervene directly to secure treatment that an Aberdeen woman “desperately” needs.
Aberdeen Central Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald called on the health secretary to help after Karen Irvine, who suffers from scoliosis, which causes curvature of the spine, had her long-awaited appointment cancelled at the last minute.
He has written to Ms Sturgeon stating Ms Irvine has been “badly let down by the failure” of the NHS to deliver the service.
“Nicola Sturgeon must step in to ensure that my constituent is seen by the end of October, already more than six months after her referral,” he said. “Ministers are quick to claim the credit when the NHS meets targets for seeing patients in time.
“Karen Irvine is in pain and facing real disability because she has been let down by the NHS. Her long-term health is in real danger.”
Ms Irvine, 33, of Hilton Terrace, Aberdeen, is one of two of Mr Macdonald’s constituents who have been battling to be referred to the National Scottish Adult Spinal Deformity Service in Edinburgh.
Originally, Ms Irvine hoped to be referred for treatment in April when the unit was supposed to open. As a result the national centre at Stanmore Hospital, Middlesex, said it could not take her if the treatment was offered in Scotland.
Claims and counter-claims over when the Edinburgh unit opened led to an accusation that Ms Sturgeon was involved in a cover-up, which the Scottish Government has denied.
Ms Irvine said Colin Briggs, service manager for women, children and neurosciences, verbally gave her a provisional date of October 26 but she has now been told she cannot be seen until December because the consultant has been involved in a car crash.
“All through the summer this guy was saying it’s nearly ready and I just kept waiting and waiting,” she said.
“I am absolutely devastated to be told I will have to wait until December at the earliest. It just seems to be one thing after another.”
The government originally claimed that 41 people, including patients from the north-east, had been referred to the unit since April 1, but Ms Irvine said Mr Briggs told her they were all aged 17-20 and that the consultant who saw them could not see her because of her age.
“If they had just been honest in the first instance and said we are not treating anyone over 20 then maybe Stanmore would have seen me months ago,” she said.
NHS Lothian medical director Dr Charles Swainson said young adult scoliosis surgery was a highly specialised service.
“Our surgeon, who performs these complex procedures, is one of only a small pool of professionals worldwide,” he said. “The patient was due to be seen by him but, within days of the appointment, he was involved in a road traffic accident.
“The patient was informed quickly and we have explained that the surgeon hopes to return to work in December when she will be among his first patients.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said since April the paediatric scoliosis surgery offered at NHS Lothian had been extended to older patients.
“NHS Lothian has confirmed that Ms Irvine’s outpatient appointment was cancelled because the lead surgeon for the young adult scoliosis service was involved in a road traffic accident,” she said. “Due to the high-risk nature of spinal surgery, it is important that patients are assessed by the surgeon who will be carrying out the operation. The board have provided assurance that Ms Irvine will be seen as soon as possible when the consultant returns.”