One million public health appointments cancelled over Covid
A record 860,000 people are on a waiting list for the health service.
There have been almost one million fewer public hospital appointments as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said there will be 200,000 fewer appointments this year in hospitals as well.
This is in addition to the 723,000 cancelled appointments last year - while a record 860,000 people are on waiting lists.
Analysis by the ICHA of the recently published HSE Service Plan for 2021 has raised concerns about the capacity of public hospitals to address existing waiting lists amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
The health body has warned the HSE's planned bed expansion will not be sufficient to meet built-up demand and infection control requirements.
The IHCA expects 2021 will be the second successive year of reductions in public hospital appointments as Covid-19 continues to impact hospital care.
153,000 of the 200,000 fewer appointments scheduled this year are outpatient appointments while 50,000 appointments are inpatient and day cases.
An analysis of HSE data by the IHCA shows in 2020 there were 248,000 fewer inpatient/day cases than in 2019, with almost 475,000 fewer outpatient appointments.
The IHCA has said the combined 2020 and 2021 figures indicate there will likely be more than 900,000 fewer patient appointments in public hospitals compared with pre-Covid activity.
President of the IHCA, Professor Alan Irvine said tackling this backlog will rely on collaborative work between HSE staff and management similar to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“HSE frontline and management staff deserve huge credit in the management of the pandemic to date. Collaborative working during the worst of the pandemic has been a key success factor. Similar approaches are now needed to tackle the massive backlog of scheduled care.
“Compiling a Service Plan amid a pandemic which is causing immediate and knock-on impacts is a huge challenge," said Professor Irvine.
"The government has stepped-up in terms of additional investment but how we channel this investment is key. We are in effect attempting to service a moving vehicle. Striking a balance between short and medium-term objectives is key and central to this is collaborative planning," he said.
Professor Irvine said inadequate recruit attempts are futile when 700 permanent consultant posts are unfilled, especially with a health service waiting list approaching one million peopl.
“Reducing levels of community infection with Covid-19 certainly helps but the stubborn nature of Covid and knock-on suspension and cancellation of patient care means backlogged cases build-up. Our ability to respond involves many factors, with beds and recruitment the principle two.
“We are heading for a waiting list of almost one million people. We continue to tinker around the edges on recruitment despite knowing that over 700 permanent consultant posts remain unfilled. Unless and until we tackle root causes, no amount of good intentions will be enough," he said.
The IHCA has also highlighted funding provided for mental health services during the pandemic as "grossly inadequate". Professor Irvine said the impact of the pandemic on mental health in the country is set to stay with the country in the wake of Covid-19.
“Of the almost €1.7bn extra funding due to the pandemic, less than 1% has been earmarked for mental health. Healthcare professionals are seeing more and more mental health presentations.
"People themselves are seeing and experiencing the unfolding effects of Covid on mental health. Given this, the funding response is grossly inadequate. This is a problem set to dominate all of us in healthcare for some time,” said Professor Irvine.
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