Health Minister denies the waiting list crisis will take five years to address

Mr Donnelly acknowledged that there are “significant issues” in the recruitment and retention of consultants, particularly in certain specialties and certain locations. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has dismissed suggestions that people are going to have to wait five years for the waiting list crisis to be addressed.

He told hospital consultants that the waiting list for a hospital appointment, which has now exceeded the 900,000 mark, is “completely unacceptable”.

“We are going to address the waiting lists," he said. "Anyone who suggests we can wait five years to deal with the backlog is underestimating my determination and the determination of the Government to sort this out.” 

Speaking at the 2021 annual conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), he said: “Girls and boys, women and men, are sometimes waiting years to see a consultant, they are waiting again to get a scan and waiting again to get back to their consultant and waiting again to have a procedure. 

In one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, this is completely unacceptable. 

He said a waiting list taskforce, chaired by the department of health’s secretary general, would operate along similar lines as the successful vaccine taskforce.

Earlier at the conference, president of the IHCA Professor Alan Ervine said as far as it is concerned the available bed capacity in hospitals is at “dangerous” levels and that the goal of fixing the health system appears to be “further away than ever”.

He said almost 70,000 more people have been added to a waiting list which now stands at 907,617 and this week there were indications that this number may grow by as much as 50% in the months ahead.

The minister said that despite the pandemic the Government has invested heavily in adding capacity to the health service:

• 850 permanent beds this year, which, he said, was the “single biggest increase” in any year in a decade;
• €52m investment in permanent critical care capacity, with beds increasing from 255 to 296 and would hit 321 by the end of the year — an overall increase of 25%;
• Plans for new critical care facilities in five sites;
• 6,000 more permanent staff in the health service than last year, including 1,400 more nurses and midwives 

Mr Donnelly acknowledged that there are “significant issues” in the recruitment and retention of consultants, particularly in certain specialties and certain locations.

He said more than 700 consultant posts have been created in the last five years, but that 250 posts are now unfilled.

The minister said he has increased access to medical cards to over-70s and to those with terminal diagnoses and has lowered charges for medicines.

Investments in clinical quality

He said the department has invested heavily in clinical quality, including in national clinical strategies: Cancer, maternity, trauma, mental health, ambulance service, gynaecology, dementia, and other areas.

He said the National Cancer Strategy, launched in 2017, needs €18m a year to roll it out and in the first three years it received an average of €2m a year, but that this year it received €20m.

The National Ambulance Strategy, launched in 2016, has received just over €1m a year, but got €10m this year, he added.

He said the National Maternity Strategy needs around €7m a year, but to date received an average of €2m, adding that, this year, it got €7m.

The minister said the mental health service “has never had the investment it needed” and that there is a long way to go.

He said the department allocated a record amount of money to mental health in Budget 2021 and that he has just finished the funding under Budget 2022.

Mr Donnelly said there will be “a similar focus” in next year’s budget, which will be revealed on Budget Day next Tuesday.

He said Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler, is “trying to drive recruitment” into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

We are looking very, very closely at eating disorders, particularly for younger women — it’s a huge issue — and indeed in older life as well.

He commended the contribution of consultants during Covid and the “relentless pressure and stress” they endured, the long hours, and the toll it took, including getting sick themselves.

The Minister said that after a “rocky start” to talks on the new consultant contract he appointed an independent chair and that pay equity for consultants on post-2012 contracts has been included in the terms of reference.

He said he has been advised that there has been “constructive engagement” this week but could not go into detail, but added he is “keen to see it agreed within weeks”.