THE LATEST figures for the number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for more than a year show that there has been a 2,000 increase in the last 12 months.
Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea has described the increase as “scandalous”.
“To have 31,834 people on the waiting list and 10,763 waiting over a year for an outpatient consultation for University Hospital Limerick is just scandalous.
“This is an increase of over 2,000 year-on-year and an increase of more than 5,000 in the past two years. The number of people waiting over a year at UHL has gone from 8,697 in January 2018 to 10,783 in January 2019,” said Deputy O’Dea.
42,273 are waiting for an outpatient appointment in the University of Limerick Hospital group which includes St Johns and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital.
“Despite pledges in 2018, Minister Harris never published an outpatient action plan. As the number of people waiting over 18 months in Mid-West hospitals is now over 9000, it is even more urgent that he do so now.
“We can’t continue with waiting times like these in Limerick or anywhere else in this country”, concluded Deputy O’Dea.
Responding to the Limerick Deputy’s criticisms, a spokesman for the UHL hospital group said the figures are as expected.
“They reflect national policy where a focus would initially be placed on those waiting longest for inpatient and day case procedures.
“At UHL, there was an overall decrease in patients waiting of approximately 14 per cent year-on-year as of the end of January 2019 and of those waiting longer than 12 months for an inpatient/day case procedure, the decrease was approximately 56 per cent.
“In relation to outpatients, there was an overall increase of 6 per cent (from 30,125 to 31,834) in persons waiting for an appointment over the 12-month period. Those waiting longer than 12 months rose by 24 per cent over the same period, from 8,697 to 10,763.
“These numbers should be seen in the context of almost 150,000 outpatient attendances in UHL and almost 217,000 attendances across the Group in 2018.
“UL Hospitals Group notes the increased allocation to the National Treatment Purchase Fund in 2019 and looks forward to the announcement of the Outpatient Action Plan which is being finalised by the HSE, the NTPF and the Department of Health.
“The above is not to minimise in any way the anxiety experienced by patients waiting for appointments. All patients who are waiting for appointments are prioritised according to clinical need with urgent cases being the highest priority.
“Among the reasons for the overall increase for the group is the significant growth in demand and a shortage of consultants”.
