IntroductionInequalities in access to planned venous surgery are not well understood. We aimed to explore the relationships between disease severity, socioeconomic deprivation, procedure performed, and waiting times.MethodsWe analysed retrospectively collected data from 302 patients undergoing varicose vein surgery at a single NHS Trust in Shropshire, England between 1st January 2024 to 31st December 2024. Spearman's correlation, chi-squared testing, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine associations between CEAP score, Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) decile, procedure performed, referral-to-treatment time and time on the waiting list.ResultsThe median age was 54 years (IQR 26), with equal male and female representation. The most common CEAP score was C2, median IMD decile was 6 (IQR 4), and median time on the surgical waiting list was 215 days (IQR 278).There was no statistically significant association between IMD and either wait time or CEAP score, in either England or Wales. CEAP score did not correlate with waiting list time (Spearman's rho = -0.031, p = 0.59). CEAP score was not associated with procedure performed (χ2 = 20.0, df = 35, p = 0.98). Similarly, no association was seen between IMD and procedure in England, Wales, Shropshire, or Telford & Wrekin.ConclusionIn this cohort, socioeconomic deprivation was not associated with disease severity, procedure selection, or delays to intervention, although the under-representation of the most deprived deciles may limit the strength of this conclusion. The lack of correlation between CEAP score and waiting time may suggest there are other factors limiting clinical prioritisation.
Crossdale et al. (Fri,) studied this question.