Over 5,200 people waiting more than five years for hospital treatment

Long waiting times can cause huge problems for patients. File picture

More than 5,200 people have been waiting more than five years for hospital treatment.

According to Freedom of Information figures, the problem is worst in hospitals in Galway, Dublin, and Limerick. There are a total of around 900,000 people on some form of hospital waiting list.

New figures show 4,929 people have been waiting over five years for their first outpatient consultation while 303 have been waiting that length of time for an inpatient or day-case procedure.

Donegal GP Ciaran Ó Fearraigh said it is completely unacceptable to make somebody wait over five years for healthcare.

"It just shows what we on the ground as GPs see all the time that people are waiting far in excess of what anybody would consider a reasonable period of time for necessary healthcare," he said.

Galway University Hospital is the worst in the country for wait times. In total, 793 patients have been waiting for over five years for care in the hospital.

Dr Ó Fearraigh said these kinds of waiting times can cause huge problems for patients.

Their condition may be deteriorating, they are in more pain, they are less likely to be going about their day-to-day activities and it is likely it will impact their mental health as well.

"In the most extreme situations, people are waiting for outpatient care and maybe have a delayed diagnosis of a severe condition that wasn't picked up because they were waiting so long," said Dr Ó Fearraigh.

The second-worst affected hospital is Tallaght University Hospital where 766 patients have been waiting over five years. It is followed closely by University Hospital Limerick with 734.