Waiting list of 8,500 to see specialists

MORE than 8,500 people are waiting to see specialists, according to waiting list figures for one of the country’s largest hospitals.

Figures for Cork University Hospital (CUH) show a total of 8,603 people on its outpatient waiting lists, with the highest numbers in orthopaedics and opthalmology — at 2,442 and 1,468 respectively. A further 1,200 outpatients are waiting to see a neurologist.

In addition to the high numbers awaiting specialist assessment, waiting times are also substantial in some specialities, particularly in orthopaedics where 495 people are waiting up to a year to see a specialist and another 269 are waiting up to two years. In gynaecology, 239 patients are waiting up to a year out of an outpatient waiting list of 708 and in neurology 132 people are waiting for up to a year to see a neurologist.

Outpatient figures are also high for plastic surgery (544) and urology (527).

In addition to those on outpatient lists, a further 583 people are waiting to be admitted as inpatients. Of these, 342 are waiting more than three months.

Again the biggest waiting lists are in opthalmology (149) and neurology (1300). A further 111 patients are on the inpatient list for gynacology procedures, 37 for up to a year and 89 are awaiting inpatient plastic surgery treatment, 25 of whom are children. On the paediatric outpatient waiting list, 228 children are waiting to see a specialist. In terms of day case waiting lists, 1,320 patients are awaiting treatment, 289 for more than three months for treatment.

The figures were issued by Gerry O’Dwyer, hospitals network manager for the Health Service Executive South, in response to a parliamentary question posed by Fine Gael Cork East TD David Stanton.

Mr Stanton described the waiting list figures as “absolutely huge” and said it was “unacceptable” given the level of investment in the health service that people were waiting so long.

Deputy general manger of CUH Tony Long said the figures were “overstated” because up to 3,000 patients should have been removed from the lists.

“Over 8,300 people on the inpatient and outpatient waiting lists have been offered appointments, but, out of that, approximately 3,000 have not responded. We have offered them second appointments, and they still did not respond. We are now at the point of sending reminders to their GPs.”

Mr Long said CUH had traditionally been very proactive in managing its waiting lists, including working closely with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to reduce its surgical lists. He said CUH will be making a submission for 2008 to the NTPF to treat patients on their medical outpatient waiting lists.

However deputy Stanton said: “There seems to be some kind of acceptance that it is somehow normal for people to have to wait for common procedures — that is not the case in other European countries and it is not acceptable here from either the Government or an agency of the State.”