Watt says health workers 'must do better' as he hits out at 'unacceptable' waiting lists

The Department of Health’s secretary-general Robert Watt.

More than 500,000 people on waiting lists is “unacceptable”, the Department of Health’s secretary-general has admitted.

Robert Watt made the remark in answer to a question from People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny about how many people are waiting to be treated or assessed for treatment.

In an update to the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday about ongoing implementation of the health service's reform programme Sláintecare, he also admitted the country’s health workers “must do better”.

In answer to Mr Kenny, he said: “Around 500,000 people are waiting for outpatient consultations. There are around 85,000 waiting for procedures.

“Then there are people who are waiting on the community waiting list as well. That's about 500,000-plus. Those numbers are still unacceptably high.”

It comes as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation(INMO) said on Wednesday that the majority of nurses and midwives are concerned about patient safety in their workplaces.

The union’s 2024 Work and Wellbeing survey shows that 76% of respondents said their current staffing levels and skill mix did not meet the required clinical and patient demands in their work area, with 92% of those expressing concern that patient safety was at risk.

More than half of respondents (54%) stated that they felt under pressure from their workplace to work additional hours/shifts. Some 15% stated that they worked more than 20 additional unpaid hours per month.

INMO president Karen McGowan said the results "very clearly show that nurses and midwives are struggling in today’s health service".

'Immense challenges' for health service as the population ages.

Meanwhile, Mr Watt also said Ireland’s health service is facing “immense challenges” as the population ages.

Mr Watt pointed out that over the past decade health funding has increased by €9.1bn, from €13.7bn in 2014 to €22.8bn in 2024.

As a consequence, he said the health service had been able to add 43,000 healthcare staff to the public service.

He said that in the acute sector, there had been a 68% increase in budget, over €3bn, provided from 2016 to 2022, amounting to a real increase in expenditure of 45%.

He said this allowed for 16,000 additional acute staff and 1,000 new inpatient beds to open in that time.

But he said: “We must, however, be honest with ourselves if we are to meet the needs of our people in the future. In contrast to the 45% increase in real expenditure, activity has only marginally increased across most treatment areas.

“While there has been a 21% growth in the number of emergency patients treated over the period, we have seen a lower increase in activity overall. Despite the progress we are making we see every day the immense challenges we face as our population increases and ages.

“We simply must do better with the resources at our disposal to meet that challenge.”

He also said that 2,229 consultants - representing approximately 51% of all consultants — had signed up to the new public only contract by last Thursday, May 2.

Mr Watt also said that his officials have finalised and given to the government proposals for extra health service staff, pay, and overtime. They are waiting to be signed off by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Cabinet.

Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane raised the “unsatisfactory” delay in publishing the HSE’s “pay and numbers” strategy — which covers recruitment of new staff and the promotion, pay and overtime for existing staff — at the hearing.

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“I've met many hospital managers in the last number of months and the issue of Pay and Numbers has come up. Staff in the health service are becoming increasingly frustrated. Is (the Pay and Numbers Strategy) just sitting on the minister's desk?”

Mr Watt replied: “There are proposals and those proposals are being discussed at a political level. There's obviously a trade off between the overall cash amount and then the need for us to be able to fund some of those unfunded posts.

“There will be a discussion at the Cabinet Committee on Health where party leaders and the minister will reach a decision. We will be informed about that and then we will implement whatever (the position is).”