WATCH: 'I know Darragh is suffering' - RTÉ investigates life on a waiting list

The programme documents how as time passes patient's conditions worsen and the long term impact can be far-reaching.

Darragh, aged 7, suffers from scoliosis. His condition has steadily deteriorated over the past year and the deformity of his spine has seriously encroached upon his lung function making breathing difficult.

He and his mother are two of the people interviewed for ‘RTÉ Investigates - Living on the List’, which airs tonight on RTÉ One at 9.35pm and followed patients who spend months and even years waiting to get an appointment to see a doctor or to have a procedure or operation.