It has been revealed that close to one million people are on hospital waiting lists. Fianna Fáil’sDara Calleary shared that a total of 997,258 patients were waiting for an appointment during the first half of the year.
The shocking figures have stunned both the public and members of the government. Speaking of the data, Mr Callaery stated that it was a national scandal.
“The very fact that there are almost one million people waiting for an appointment speaks for itself. Never before have we seen a situation whereby people have been failed so badly by a government,” he said.
A concerning number of patients have been left on waiting lists. 148,000 people were waiting more than a year for an appointment with a consultant.
Over 500,000 people were waiting on outpatient appointments this summer alone.
In the April of 2018, a further 135,000 people were waiting for ultrasounds, CT scans and MRIs.
Mr Callaery added: “The scale of these waiting lists is truly shocking and highlights very clearly the level of demand and the lack of capacity available to meet it.”
He stressed the importance of investing in our healthcare system. “There will be no improvement in the situation unless there is investment in capacity, and as our population continues to live longer, it poses more serious issues for our health service”
He continued: “What we need now is action."
A spokesperson for Minister for Health Simon Harris told RTÉ that the government is tackling the waiting list issue by investing €50 million in the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
"The Outpatient Waiting List remains a significant challenge but the minister is committed to continuing to work to ensure that the progress we're seeing on the hospital waiting lists is also reflected in the outpatient lists,” they added.
