10,000 patients waiting 4 years for a consultant

Nearly 60% of the 9,800 people waiting four years or more for an outpatient hospital consultant appointment are based in Limerick.

HSE figures show that despite Health Minister James Reilly’s aim to ensure nobody waits longer than 12 months by the end of this year, 9,784 people nationally are still waiting the lengthy period.

Details obtained by www.irishhealth.com confirm the highest rate in the country is at the Mid-Western Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom, Co Limerick, where 4,109 mainly elderly people have been told they will not access care for at least four years. This figure accounts for 40% of the total four year-plus rate.