Bristol surgery wait for baby with cleft lip and palate
BBCThe father of a baby born with a cleft lip and palate is worried his son may suffer with his speech in the future due to treatment delays.
Christopher Jones, from Taunton, said the wait for surgery is putting children on the "back foot before they've even started in life".
Mr Jones' son will be at least three months older than NHS guidelines recommend when he receives treatment.
Bristol Children's Hospital said delays have been exacerbated by Covid-19.
Mr Jones and his wife researched treatment options after finding out their baby would have the cleft lip and palate during his wife's baby scans.
He said they were told early on there would be treatment delays due to the pandemic, but that it "quickly became apparent these delays were quite isolated to a number of areas".
NHS guidelines advise cleft lips should be treated by six months of age and cleft palates by 13 months.
Mr Jones' son will be about 10-months-old for the lip procedure and about 16 to 17-months-old by the time he receives treatment for his palate.
The NHS website says that around one in every 700 babies is born with the condition which happens when a baby's lip or mouth does not form properly during pregnancy.
Mr Jones said that when they first heard there could be a delay in treatment, they were concerned how it would impact the wellbeing of their son.
"The evidence and research shows that this [treatment] shouldn't happen past those dates," he said.
"There's a statistical increase in potential speech impediments if the surgeries are carried out after that date."
Mr Jones has carried out a number of freedom of information requests, which he says show delays are not just happening because of Covid, but started in 2014.
Mr Jones said that although the hospital trust managed to get surgery times back to the recommended timeframes in 2018, delays are now apparent again.
Interim medical director for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Emma Redfern, said: "We recognise how distressing a wait for cleft surgery can be and I would like to offer our sincerest apologies to patients and their families who are waiting.
"There have regrettably been delays in this service, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for our urgent and emergency care services, which are having a significant impact on planned procedures."
She added that they are taking the matter "extremely seriously" and working to further improve the situation.
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