PATIENTS "crippled with pain" from arthritis are now waiting six years to see a hospital consultant despite being classed as "urgent", The Irish News has learned.
In what is believed to be the worst waiting time in the NHS for those requiring vital treatment, Belfast trust confirmed the scale of delays for its rheumatology service - describing them as "completely unacceptable".
A total of 1,751 people suffering from debilitating joint and bone illnesses are on the trust's "urgent" lists with the longest 'waiter' first referred in August 2015, the trust confirmed.
In addition, more than 3,000 'routine' patients are also experiencing spiralling delays with the longest wait at seven years.
Unprecedented frontline sickness levels linked to Covid have led to the redeployment of many of the unit's staff . However, rheumatology is among multiple medical specialities where waiting lists rocketed even before the pandemic hit.
One Co Antrim GP said he has a patient suffering from osteoarthritis whose appointment has been postponed "with no apparent reason given", and that his mental health is now affected.
"This is a fit and active man who needs a hip replacement. He was referred to rheumatology and seen once where he told he would have to be started on a certain type of drug," Dr John McSparran said.
"He was due a review appointment last week but it was cancelled and he is absolutely crippled with pain. His mental health is struggling so is back onto me again while waiting. That’s at least half-a-dozen contacts we’ve had with this fellow in the last couple of months. Essentially it’s all because he’s not getting his care progressed."
Dr McSparran said there's "no such thing" as a health service now.
"It's not a service at all. It's very much a two-tiered system for those who have the means and pay privately for it, and are doing so, and those who aren't - and who are getting completely and utterly ruined because they can't get any secondary care service at all essentially.
"To call it a service now is just a misnomer."
Rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and other joint related conditions are among those seen by by the Belfast rheumatology team of six consultants, six specialist nurses and support staff.
In a statement, the trust apologised for delays: "Waiting times are completely unacceptable for our rheumatology service and fully understand the anxiety this has caused patients on the waiting list, many of whom continue to experience pain whilst awaiting treatment.
"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to those on the waiting list and reassure them that every effort is being made to address capacity issues within the service."
The development comes amid the north's ongoing political crisis following last's week resignation of DUP First Minister Paul Givan and collapse of the Stormont executive.
Dr Alan Stout, a GP and leading member of the British Medical Association, expressed "sheer frustration" at the development given the "potential" to tackle waiting lists through a long-awaited three-year budget.
It is highly unlikely the planned budget will go ahead as it requires ministerial sign-off, with the north instead reverting back to a year-on-year rolling budget creating difficulties for workforce planning and service development.
Dr Stout said waiting lists are so long that sometimes he is unable to tell a patient how many years they will wait to see a hospital specialist.
"We estimate that as much as 20 per cent of our demand in general practice is from people struggling to be seen in hospital outpatients following a referral," he explained.
"Currently, I couldn’t name one speciality where the wait is less than a year and most are multiple years...So I just feel sheer frustration at what has happened politically."
He warned the threatened collapse of devolution - DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it may be "difficult" for his party to form a government post election if the protocol isn't addressed - will impact severely on staff.
"We’re obviously much more optimistic about coming out of the pandemic. But there’s still a degree of uncertainty there with what we face," Dr Stout said.
"But for healthcare staff, who’ve been through so much, there’s a massive psychological impact of all of this politicking going on.
"Even with all the downsides of Covid, we have a greater opportunity more than ever to properly rebuild our services.
"One of the absolute fundamental building blocks for that, which we’ve campaigned for years, is a multi-year budget. With this budget you don’t end up in the trap of lots of pilot schemes that may or may not continue next year.
"For me, the biggest frustration is that we have so much potential in front of us."
