The Irish Hospital Consultants Association has warned that hospital waiting lists in the North West and West are some of the worst in the country.
Over 127,700 people are on outpatient waiting list at hospitals across the Saolta Hospital Group, an increase of 72% since 2015.
The number of people waiting for inpatient/day case care is over 17,200; with a further 7,700 awaiting endoscopies.
3,600 additional patients are waiting longer than a year for inpatient/day case treatment.
At Letterkenny University Hospital, there’s been a 43% increase in outpatient waiting lists since 2015 with 20,990 people awaiting an appointment as of July 2021.
The IHCA say consultant recruitment crisis is the root cause of delays in providing care, with 1 in 5 permanent consultant posts vacant or unfilled in the region.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association has today warned that the ongoing shortage of hospital consultants is restricting patients from accessing timely, high-quality medical and surgical care and is contributing massively to growing waiting lists.
