Reilly: ‘Herculean effort’ on year-long lists

A 50,000 cut in one month in the number of outpatients waiting more than a year for appointments has been put down to “Herculean efforts” in the health service.

Explaining the decrease, James Reilly, the health minister, said “all the stops were pulled out” in December, including directing surgeons unable to use theatre to treating outpatients.

Dr Reilly claimed that, by the end of December, about 5,000 patients were waiting for outpatient appointments for more than a year, down from 56,000 in November.

The figures stood at 103,000 in March, although there were several thousand more waiting more than four years.

Dr Reilly said the waiting list was cleared largely by the “astonishing number” of extra outpatient appointments — 102,000 — in the system last year.

In relation to the 50,000 extra patients reportedly seen in December, he said extra clinics were put on “right through” Christmas week and “right up to the New Year”.

Dr Reilly said 23,000 patients came off the waiting list in 2013 by going for private treatment. Another 28,000 were eliminated for failing to turn up for their appointment. In fact, out of a total of 2.5m outpatients, he said, there were 470,000 unused appointments, of which 150,000 were first-time appointments.

Dr Reilly said he was planning to clamp down on the problem of no-shows, including putting people who fail to show to the back of the queue.