New HSE dashboard lets patients see how busy their local hospital is

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish Patients Association welcomed the transparency of the HSE dashboard but the IMO cautions that the site offers little understanding of the circumstances facing any one hospital. 

Patients can now see how busy their local hospital is and how many other patients are being treated for their condition around the country in an expansion of how the HSE and Department of Health share data.

Consultants have already warned there are so many differences in supports that it is not fair to compare hospitals in this way.

The outpatient attendance dashboard on the HSE website covers 21 public hospitals which can be viewed by name or by health region.

For hospitals in the South West region, covering Cork and Kerry, nephrology (kidney treatment), and orthopaedics (bones treatment) are the busiest with an average of over 3,200 patients seen each month.

At University Hospital Limerick, orthopaedics and ophthalmology (eye treatment) are the busiest with an average of over 2,300 patients seen monthly.

The new HSE dashboard lets us see how busy the various departments in Ireland's hospitals are. You can click into the link at the foot of this article. 

Orthopaedics are also the busiest department at University Hospital Waterford where an average of over 2,900 patients are seen monthly.

Dermatology is another popular speciality with on average 5,244 out patient appointments given each month nationally.

Total of 3.7m outpatient appointments in 2023

Last year across the health services, upwards of 3.7m outpatient appointments were given; 650,000 inpatient appointments and 1.2m day case discharges.

Emergency departments saw 1.7m presentations in all.

Responding to the publication, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) welcomed the transparency but said “further examination” is needed.

“It is important to note that the kind of blanket approach of comparing hospital sites is of little value in terms of understanding what is happening at individual hospital level,” said IMO consultants’ committee chairman Matthew Sadlier.

Complex causes of how busy a hospital is 

This can be influenced by access to clinics as well as how complicated treatment is or access to scans, beds and operating theatres.

The IMO discussed this with the HSE in June, and said it was accepted that differences between hospitals or between specialities will appear.

Professor Sadlier said: “The trend identified in this report needs further analysis so that all the factors at play are understood and appropriate supports put in place.

Blaming consultants is not the solution. 

He called for a properly funded plan to address the gaps: “Our chronic shortage of bed capacity and the ongoing recruitment freeze have resulted in ever-lengthening waiting list numbers which in many cases are resulting in poor patient outcomes.”

The Irish Patients Association welcomed the move towards more transparency.

“The focus on productivity and accountability is long overdue and holds significant importance for improving the healthcare system and ensuring the best possible outcomes for all patients regardless of ability to pay,” co-founder Stephen McMahon said.

He acknowledged “there may be many barriers to optimum performance” and called for these to be addressed.

This is especially important, he said “considering the allocation of an additional €1.5bn increase in funding this week to address overruns in the health system”.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced a National Clinical Trials Oversight Group which is expected to bring more trials to Ireland.

This could be good news for patients, particularly those who are unable to take part in trials for new medicines abroad.

Among the group are two oncologists from Cork University Hospital as well as patient advocates Rare Diseases Ireland.

In April, a group of cancer doctors and academics wrote an open letter to the Government calling for improved access to trials among other issues.

The group warned: “We are falling far short of the already modest target of 6% of cancer patients participating in clinical trials.”

• You will find a link to the new outpatient attendance dashboard on this page on the HSE website.