Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on surgical services in a Scottish remote and rural setting

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about instability in healthcare providers worldwide; this includes rural settings that had fewer cases of COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic. This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the surgical services offered at the Balfour Hospital, Orkney Islands, Scotland in the UK and the impact the pandemic had indirectly on the service in 2020.

The authors conducted a retrospective study concentrating on surgical services including emergency hospital presentations and the number of cancer diagnoses, specifically colorectal. Colorectal malignancies were specifically investigated as in the Balfour Hospital they are primarily diagnosed by surgeons. Focus was on diagnosis and outcomes between June 2020 and October 2020, in comparison with the previous year. This time period was chosen because surgical services reconvened after a period of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The types of emergency admission into the Balfour Hospital during this time were examined, as well as delayed surgeries and the impact of delaying surgery.

The data show that, although the prevalence of cancers diagnosed was static, patients presented at a much later stage, with significant impact on prognosis and quality of life. Aside from cancer diagnosis, non-urgent work was significantly disrupted due to the pandemic in 2020. The average waiting time for non-urgent clinic consultation increased from 6 weeks to 18 weeks during this period. The number of patients awaiting endoscopic investigations increased threefold. There was also an increase in the number of emergency admissions due to complications of disease.

Although the effects of COVID-19 have been felt nationwide, the impact is more exaggerated in rural communities such as Orkney due to the small population. It is likely the indirect impact on surgical morbidity and mortality in Orkney in 2020 was disproportionately higher than the impact of COVID-19 in the local community. Furthermore, due to limited island resources, a significant number of patients required transfer to tertiary centres for management of complications. This is a unique issue affecting rural communities.