FG: Tralee waiting lists ‘completely unacceptable’

SOME people on waiting lists for appointments at Kerry General Hospital (KGH), Tralee, could be dead before they are called to see a consultant, it was claimed yesterday.

It has emerged that some patients have been waiting to see a rheumatology consultant at the hospital for seven and a half years, among the longest waiting periods on record.

Other patients have been waiting for more than four years for an appointment to see an ear, nose and throat consultant at the same hospital. Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said the situation was “completely unacceptable”, adding some of the people waiting could be dead by the time they were given appointments. He also said many patients would have been forced to opt for private health care in order to have their medical conditions dealt with.