Eight-year waiting list to see consultant in some cases

It can take up to eight years for a patient to see a consultant in Ireland, according to a report in this morning's Irish Times.

The newspaper claims 48 people attending the outpatient department of Mayo General Hospital this year had been on waiting lists since 1999.

The figures, which were provided under the Freedom of Information Act, show that hospitals in the western region have some of the longest waiting times in the country.

Some outpatients at University College Hospital in Galway and the Merlin Park Regional hospital have been waiting to see a consultant since 2000.

Elsewhere in the country people face waits of two to three years for appointments in hospitals in Cork, Limerick, Sligo, Letterkenny and even at Beaumont hospital in Dublin.

More than 139,000 people were on hospital waiting lists at 24 hospitals either last year or earlier this year.

Not all hospitals provided data, however, and it is believed that the true outpatient waiting list figures are significantly higher than published today.