The Irish Hospital Consultants Association is warning that patient health in the North-West is at risk due to excessive delays to care.
Over 131,000 people are on a waiting list at hospitals within the Saolta University Health Care Group which includes Letterkenny University Hospital.
Waiting lists for outpatient appointments, inpatient/day case treatment and procedures in the North West and West have increased by 3% since start of the year.
Latest figures show that 2,850 appointments and operations were cancelled at hospitals in the Saolta Group between December 2022 and January this year.
With no additional acute hospital beds planned this year, the IHCA has warned that the growing shortage of essential acute hospital beds and consultants across the region is resulting in waiting lists for treatment that is impacting on patient outcomes.
IHCA President Prof Robert Landers says there is a serious concern that unmanageable waiting lists are impacting some of the most vulnerable patients.
He says Government needs to agree, fund and timetable plans to expand hospital capacity and Consultant staffing.
