'Urgent action' needed to cut hospital waiting lists on both sides of the border

ESRI research found more people in Ireland cannot get healthcare for financial reasons than in Northern Ireland.

More people in Ireland cannot get healthcare for financial reasons than in Northern Ireland with “urgent action” needed to slash hospital waiting lists in both jurisdictions, analysis by the ESRI has found.

However, the analysis found waiting times for in-patient hospital care in Northern Ireland were more affected by Covid-19 than in Ireland.

Researchers found people in Northern Ireland are entitled to a range of health and social services which are almost entirely free and people rely very little on private health insurance. There are no prescription charges.

“There are higher levels of unmet healthcare needs due to affordability issues in Ireland relative to Northern Ireland,” the analysis states.

They found 67 GPs per 100,000 of population in Ireland and 68 in Northern Ireland but said data showing exactly how many work full-time or part-time is not available.

The report states the Sláintecare recommendation to extend free GP care to all would bring the Irish system more in line with Northern Ireland.

However, it said the current shortage of GPs and other primary healthcare staff means extra recruitment is needed otherwise the switch will only result in longer waiting times.

Redeployment of primary care staff during the pandemic caused a “significant reduction in non-Covid activity in primary care”, especially in speech and language therapy in Ireland and dental care in Northern Ireland, the review found.

They found services that are free in Ireland such as childhood vaccinations have a similar uptake to Northern Ireland but services that sometimes require payment like the flu vaccine have a lower uptake. 

Both systems are facing common challenges including increasing demand for healthcare services, workforce shortages and long waits for a range of healthcare services.

Data for the UK shows 4.8% of health spending for the prevention of illness compared to 2.7% in Ireland.

Urgent action is required to tackle waiting times on both sides of the border. Picture: PA

 

Waiting times

“Urgent action is required to tackle waiting times on both sides of the border. This will likely require a multifaceted approach, with an emphasis on service delivery, workforce capacity and skill mix in both jurisdictions,” the report states.

In December 2017, about 30% of people waiting for out-patient appointments in Ireland and Northern Ireland were waiting more than a year. This role to 53% in Northern Ireland by 2021 and over 41% in Ireland. 

Before the pandemic between 54% and 61% of people waiting for day-case or in-patient appointments were waiting more than three months in both regions.

“By 2021 this had increased to 66% in Ireland and 81% in Northern Ireland,” the review found.

Lead author of the report, Dr Sheelah Connolly said: “Similarities and differences between the healthcare systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland provide an opportunity to examine how different systems and policies influence outcomes.” 

This is the third report from the ESRI joint research programme with the Shared Island unit of the Department of the Taoiseach.